One Last Assignment
by Baxter54132
Summary: For NaNoWriMo. Grumman reaches out to pick up the pocket watch, flipping it between his fingers as he contemplates what Ed has told him. "I cannot allow this Major Elric," Ed freezes in his seat, "What?" Grumman puts down the watch and files through his desk for a moment, pulling out a manila folder. "I have one last assignment for you." Full Summary Inside. EdWin Alternate Ending
1. Fuhrer Grumman

Hey everyone! So I'm officially doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I decided to write mine about Ed. So this story will end up being around 50,000 words long, and I will write it all during the month of November.

However, I will not be posting it all during this month, I will space things out properly, maybe weekly updates, but keep in mind this was all written within one month.

Full Summary: After father is defeated, all Ed wants is to retire from the military and return to his home town of Resembool with his brother Al. However, the Fuhrer Grumman has other plans. Ed is sent to the west. His assignment is clear, go undercover as a new recruit, find the corruption, and expose it.

Disclaimer: even though I am writing this for National Novel Writing Month, I do not own it, or any of the Full Metal Characters and plots.

I hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

As the sun rises higher in the sky, Ed can't help but shift uncomfortably in his seat. He is sitting on the end next to his younger brother Al, shuddering as a small bead of sweat rolls down his back. Al has only been back in his own body for a short 24 hours, and has dozed off into a light nap from the intense heat.

An old man dressed in a tuxedo is standing at the front of the crowd finishing up his speech. Applause explodes from the audience and the man bows before stepping off stage. Ed sits up in his seat, anxious for the ceremony to be over.

A younger, more familiar man steps up to the podium. With short black hair and piercing black eyes, Roy Mustang commands the stage. Ed can't help but roll his eyes at the lazy colonel, but figures he should pay attention, since Roy does occasionally say important things.

"Hey Al, wake up." Ed whispers harshly into his brother's ear as he jabs him with his elbow. Al stirs slightly with a low groan.

"Is it over?" Al straightens abruptly in his seat as he brings himself to full consciousness.

Ed shakes his head no, but motions towards Roy, "He has some sort of announcement."

Al nods, and the two fall silent as Roy clears his throat to speak. "I would now like to announce your new leader, Fuhrer Grumman." Roy takes a step back and gestures off stage as the audience applauds loudly.

Grumman enters from stage left, waving to the audience with a broad smile spread across his face.

His gaze rakes across the crowd as he reaches the podium, and when his eyes meet Ed's he winks slyly before addressing the camera in front of him.

"As unfortunate as it is that Fuhrer Bradley was stolen away from us…"

Ed zones out again, he knows that Grumman will make a great Fuhrer, even without listening to his droning political speech. Al however, is sitting up, eager to use his newly regained senses to their fullest.

Ed's gaze wanders, and he catches Roy staring at him from his post behind the Fuhrer. Ed narrows his eyes at the Colonel, but Roy ignores the action, turning his head to examine the crowd.

Ed keeps shifting his eyes, and they land on the blond officer standing directly to Roy's right.

Riza Hawkeye is standing at sharp attention, her eyes shifting as she patrols every square inch of the surrounding area for the slightest chance of danger. She notices Ed looking at her, and allows her lips to curve up in the slightest smile. If Ed didn't know the First Lieutenant so well, he would have thought he was imagining it.

Ed nods once in her direction, and then decides to take in his surroundings.

The ceremony is taking place in the largest rose garden in Central. The gardeners worked frantically for 24 hours straight to open up a large clearing in the middle of the garden, rearranging the roses so the Fuhrer could have his televised speech in the most beautiful place possible.

"…and I will use these strategies to lead Amestris into a new future." Ed snaps his attention back to the front as the audience applauds for the third and final time, signaling the end of the ceremony. Grumman salutes the crowd and exits the stage, sharing a few words Roy and Riza on is way out.

The two turn to follow Grumman out, probably escorting him to his next destination.

With the ceremony over, the crowd starts filing out of the garden, eager to escape the blistering heat.

Ed stands up eagerly, stretching out his stiff limbs. "I'm glad that's over." He turns to his left to help Al to his feet. Al gratefully accepts his brother's arm, and the two make their way out of the garden.

Once they have retreated to their air conditioned hotel room, Ed collapses onto his hotel bed with a groan.

"Wasn't that interesting brother?" Al is full of energy from his nap, and settles down on one of the chairs in the room as he tries to start up a conversation with his brother.

Ed half shrugs as his head sinks deeper into his pillow. "It was fine…"

Al continues happily, "I think Fuhrer Grumman will make a great Fuhrer."

"I need to go see him," Ed pushes himself into a sitting position, a grim expression settling onto his face.

"Why is that brother?"

Ed holds up his two bare hands and shows his identical palms to Al. "I can't use alchemy anymore, so I need to turn in my State Alchemist pocket watch and resign from the military. I'm going to go visit Fuhrer Grumman right now, you should wait here, then we can get some lunch."

Al nods, "Alright brother, see you later."

Ed stands up from the bed and pulls on his famous red jacket. He pulls open the hotel door, pausing for a moment to glance over his shoulder at his younger brother, "You rest up and I'll be back soon."

* * *

Ed knocks on the door briskly three times and waits patiently for a response. There is a new brass label on the door, with "Fuhrer Grumman" carved into it in clean cursive.

"You may come in," A voice rings out from inside the room, so Ed opens the door tentatively.

Fuhrer Grumman is sitting behind his desk, reading over a piece of paper. He glances up as Ed enters the room, motioning for him to sit down with his free hand.

Ed settles down into one of the huge red chairs across from the desk, suddenly feeling nervous as he sits in front of the most powerful man in the country.

"What can I do for you?" Grumman places down the paper he is holding, looking the older Elric brother squarely into his eyes through his half rim glasses.

Ed reaches into his pocket and pulls out his most valuable possession, placing it onto the desk in front of Grumman. "I would like to retire from the position of State Alchemist." Ed holds his gaze level, showing the new Fuhrer that he is serious about his decision.

Grumman reaches out to pick up the pocket watch, flipping it between his fingers as he contemplates what Ed has told him.

"I cannot allow this Major Elric,"

Ed freezes in his seat, his golden eyes narrowing. "What?"

Grumman puts down the watch and files through his desk for a moment, pulling out a manila folder.

"I have one last assignment for you."

* * *

Well what did you all think? Stay tuned for more! This is going to be a crazy month.


	2. Getting Ready For The Mission

I know people normally update on Fridays when it is weekly, but I've decided to go against the norm! Here we go with Thursday updates! Every Thursday I will post another chapter.

I'm doing pretty well, I've written 13,552 words for this story so far. I hope to keep pushing forward and finish a few days early. Anyway I'll have another update for you next Thursday.

Disclaimer: Full Metal Alchemist be not mine…

Also thanks to all those who reviewed, and if you didn't please do so now :)

* * *

Ed takes the manila folder from Grumman's hands, looking at the cover anxiously. 'West Corruption' is written in large red letters.

"Let me give it to you straight, you are 16 years old, which is the perfect age to enlist in the military. We have heard many rumors of corruption in the West, mostly amongst the officers. I heard you can no longer use alchemy, so you are perfect for the job. I want you to go undercover as a new recruit, find out exactly which leaders are corrupt, then report back to me."

"Why should I?" Ed keeps his eyes down and focused on the folder.

Grumman can't help but chuckle at the question. "If you do this, you will never hear from the military again. We will be out of your life forever. This includes your brother if you would like. The Elric family will no longer have to deal with us."

Ed looks up curiously at the offer. "We won't ever see you again?"

Grumman shakes his head, "Not a peep."

"Alright, I'll do it." Ed reaches out to pick up his pocket watch, but Grumman beats him to it, scooping up the watch and dropping it into his desk.

"You can't carry this anymore, from now on you are no longer a State Alchemist, and you will be going undercover as a Private. You leave in one week. See Colonel Mustang for all of the details."

Ed nods slowly as he stands up from his chair.

"Good luck." Grumman calls from his desk as Ed exits the room.

* * *

"Have a safe mission brother, I'll look after things at home" Al promises as he embraces his brother, trying to make the most of what could be their last moment together for a long time.

Ed squeezes his brother back equally as hard. "I know you will, and don't you worry. While you're gone the Colonel and Lieutenant will teach me everything I need to know for my mission. I'll be home before you know it."

Al releases Ed and steps onto the train, disappearing down a corridor.

Alex Armstrong has been assigned to escort Al home, so he is a few paces behind the younger Elric brother and turns to board the train, but not before trapping Ed in a crushing embrace. "I will see you soon Edward Elric!"

Ed takes the hug in stride, but pushes Armstrong away when he needs to inhale some oxygen.

Armstrong loosens his arms, and Ed takes a huge huff inward. "I'll see you later." He wheezes out.

The train lets out a warning toot, so Armstrong drops the older Elric brother, boarding the train.

Ed walks away from the train, where Roy and Riza are waiting for him.

"Let's get started Fullmetal. We only have one week to get you ready for your mission."

Ed nods as he watches Al's train depart from the station. "What's first?"

"First you learn about your alibi." Roy starts to walk away, and Riza follows behind him quietly. Ed watches them walk for a moment before trailing after. They stop at a small café, and Roy chooses a small table for them to sit at.

The three of them sit down, and after ordering some coffee, get down to business.

Roy opens up a folder and clears his throat.

"Your new name is Edward Rockbell."

Ed makes an irritated face, "Why Rockbell? That's Winry's last name…"

Roy smirks, "She was the inspiration. That last name isn't very common in the West, and we wanted to pick one that exists, but isn't heard of much out there."

"Fine…" Ed gives up with a sigh takes a sip of his coffee, so Roy continues.

"You are 16, have short blond hair, and have an automail leg because a lawn mower took off your leg when you were 5. You used to work for an automail shop, but they recently closed. You couldn't find any work, so you decided to join the military."

Ed makes another face, "What if they ask me about automail stuff?"

"I'm sure you know enough to get by," Roy flips the page over. "The only other thing it says here is you have short hair. I guess we have to cut it off then huh." A smirk spreads across his face, making his eyes glint evily.

"I can help you with your hair if you would like," Riza comments, her hazel eyes meeting Ed's gold ones as his face twists in horror.

"Thanks so much Lieutenant," Ed relaxes a little at Riza's words, finally hearing something helpful rather than the Colonel's snarky comments.

Roy cuts back in, "You are going to be entering the West as a new recruit, so you will have to go through their recruitment program. Most people who enter the military have some sort of training or physical experience, so we will spend a few of these days preparing you. The Lieutenant will take care of your looks today, and then teach you weaponry tomorrow. The day after that you and I will practice your undercover skills. Once Major Armstrong returns he will help you restore strength to your right arm. All of this should prepare you for your time in the West." Roy pulls a few more pieces of paper out of the folder. "These are maps of where you will be living, I suggest you memorize them, because you will be expected to know the area once you are living there."

Ed takes the papers with a nod, glancing at the confusing squiggles of roads and stores drawn in a seemingly meaningless pattern.

Ed drops some cens onto the table and stands up with a large yawn. "Are you ready to go Miss Hawkeye?"

Riza nods and stands up, reaching into her own pocket for money.

Roy puts up one hand to stop her. "I've got you covered Lieutenant," Roy smirks up at Riza, and a few silent words pass between them that Ed can't quite decipher.

Riza looks away, motioning to Ed to follow her. He complies, and the two walk away. After a few steps, Ed motions briefly over his shoulder, "What about the Colonel?" Roy is now sitting alone at the table, staring straight ahead as if lost in thought.

Riza doesn't even spare a glance over her shoulder as she responds, "he has to meet someone, I'll catch up with him later."

Ed figures that's all he is going to get, so he drops the topic.

* * *

"We have a few options," Riza draws a few lines onto a piece of paper, making a round head, and then drawing short lines sticking out of the scalp.

Ed stares at it for a moment, before bursting out laughing, "That's supposed to be me?"

Riza shifts her eyes towards Ed, and he shuts up immediately, not wanting to piss off the most dangerous Lieutenant in all of Central.

Riza draws another figure below the first one, giving this one longer hair, this time curling down over the stick figure's forehead.

"I don't want to buzz it," Ed voices his complaint as Riza draws a third stick figure, this one with what seems to be a block of hair on its head, presumably from too much gel.

"That's fine, but we really do need to cut it." Riza looks over her three drawings, then shows them to Ed. "What do you think?"

"I think it should be short, but not too short." Ed considers the three photos before pointing at the first one.

"How about we cut it so it is half an inch long, it will stand up straight, but it will be longer than if I buzzed it."

Ed thinks for a moment, and then nods, "alright I think that will work."

Riza pulls out a pair of scissors, "Let's get to work, first to go is that bang."

* * *

Oh Ed and his hair… I think he'd be pretty cute with short hair.

Well, what did you think? Please leave a review!


	3. Learning About Weapons

Hey there everyone! It's Thursday again! (I'm legit so excited)

I'm up to 30,386 words now, so only 20,000 to go. I'm so excited to finish, hopefully by time I post chapter three I will be almost done.

Thanks for all of your reviews, keep it up! They make me so happy.

Disclaimer: Event though I am trying to write 50,000 words for it, I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

* * *

The gun range is surprisingly silent, and Ed for once doesn't need to cover his ears to protect them from the loud gunshots that would echo off the thick cement walls.

"I reserved the range so you could focus on learning," Riza explains quietly as she leads Ed over to the rental counter.

Ed feels a rush of gratefulness towards the Lieutenant, he knows that the Colonel wouldn't have extended him the same comfort.

"Hey there Rebecca," Riza greets the person who is manning the rental desk.

The girl with jet black hair grins back at the blond Lieutenant, "I heard you need to teach this kid how to fire a gun."

Riza nods, "I need two M14's, two Walther MPL's, and two Karabiner 98K's."

Rebecca disappears for a moment, and returns with the requested weapons. "You guys have fun, don't shoot your feet off."

Riza takes the armful of weapons from Rebecca and takes them over to the nearest shooting zone. She sets the guns down in a line, before returning to the rental desk to get ammo, two eye protectors, and two ear muffs.

Ed follows her back to the station, where she quickly loads every gun with quick efficiency.

"Right, first we need to talk about gun safety. You will be expected to know this in the West. The first rule, never put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to shoot. Rule number two, always point the gun downrange, or at the enemy. Rule number three, always assume a gun is loaded."

Ed nods, feeling a slight shiver run down his spine as he recalls his last incident with guns. That was a while ago, but the fear he felt when Winry was pointing a gun at Scar was real, and he shakes his head in an attempt to erase the memory.

Riza passes Ed one of the ear muffs and eye glasses. He puts them on, but leaves one side of the ear muffs off so he can hear Riza. She does the same.

"How is your arm feeling?" Riza's voice softens, motioning towards Ed's newly returned right arm. Ed holds it up, squeezing his palm into a tight fist.

"It is still weaker than my left arm, but I think it is strong enough to hold a gun." Ed punches the air with his fist, showing off the return of his strength.

Riza doesn't respond, but picks up one of the M14's. "This is an M14, it is the rifle most commonly used by Amestrian soldiers. It takes a clip and can fire off seven shots before needing reloading, however you need to pull the trigger for every shot. Because of this the M14 Is extremely accurate. The recoil on this one is moderate, so be careful when you fire it."

The two adjust their ear muffs so they are covering both ears. Ed glances down range and sees that some circular targets are already set up, all white with red circles painted on them.

Riza points the weapon down range and releases one shot, which makes a small hole in the bull's eye of the furthest target. Riza places her weapon down, and picks up the second M14, handing it to Ed.

He accepts it with a nod, and places his hands in the same way he saw Riza holding it.

The nerves suddenly rush back into his stomach, but he holds the gun steady. "Can I fire?" he mouths to Riza anxiously.

Riza checks his hand position, and gives him the ok, signaling that he can fire.

Ed takes a deep breath, and looks at the small aim helper at the front of the weapon, attempting to point it at the same target Riza shot through moments before.

Ed moves his finger to the trigger and squeezes with all his might. The next thing he knows, he's stumbled back three steps, and the gun clatters out of his arms. He looks over at Riza with horror on his face, and she holds back a smile at Ed's reaction.

Down range, Ed did hit the target, just on the very outside ring of it.

Riza pulls off her ear muffs, and Ed does the same. "That was pretty good; you've just got to hang onto the weapon next time." Riza comments as she leans down and picks up the abandoned M14. "You just need practice, we have all day to work on these three weapons, I would like to give you an introduction to all of them first."

"Alright," Ed complies and glances down at the two remaining weapons, "I get what these are, but I doubt I'll ever need a sniper rifle."

"We don't know exactly where they will assign you, so you need to be prepared for anything." Riza picks up the Karabiner 98K. "We'll cover this one next. The Karabiner 98K is made for distance, and is used by snipers. It again doesn't need to be reloaded every shot, but only after six. The recoil on this one is even larger than the M14, but it is less accurate, because the bullets are lighter and more manipulated by the wind. I don't think you should fire this one right now because of your arm, but you should remain aware of it so you can use it in the future if need be."

Ed agrees quickly, relieved to get out of firing a weapon that is almost half his height.

All that is left is the Walther MPL, this one looks the smallest and least threatening, but Ed knows he can't let his guard down.

"This is the most violent of the three," Riza begins as she wraps her fingers around the small machine gun. "It can fire 30 shots in one clip, and you only need to hold down the trigger once to make it fire multiple times. You will most likely be using this one, since it was invented in the West, and seems to be popular over there."

Riza motions for them to replace their earmuffs, and quickly empties her Walther MPL into the many targets down range. Ed watches in astonishment as she makes clean plus signs on every target with lines of bullet holes.

"Th…that was so cool!" Ed stutters out after he removes his earmuffs.

Riza smiles slightly at the older Elric brother. "I've had a lot of practice."

Ed leans down and picks up the other Walther MPL, this time eager to try. "I bet I can make a cool shape too," he informs the Lieutenant. He snaps on his earmuffs and points the small machine gun down range.

Ed pulls the trigger, but releases it shortly after as three shots launch out of the barrel. The first rips through the nearest target, while the other two miss the targets completely.

Riza places one hand onto Ed's shoulder, and pulls one half of his ear muff off his head to speak into his ear, "Try holding the gun steady, and don't move once you pull the trigger."

Ed nods, and Riza replaces the ear muff on his ear.

He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and opens them, ready to shoot once again…

* * *

Five hours and three hundred bullets later and Ed can finally shoot effectively with both weapons, and has a good grasp on the third.

"I think we can stop for the day."

Ed relaxes at Riza's words, and he plops down on the ground with a sigh. "Phew that was hard work." He takes the now empty clip out of his M14, and puts it to the side with all of the other clips.

Riza collects the weapons from where they are laying on the ground and takes Ed's from his hands. "I'll go turn these in," she says. She walks over to the rental counter, where a very bored Rebecca is reading a magazine.

Riza places down the weapons with a clunk, startling Rebecca out of her magazine. "Oh, hey are you done? I can take care of these for you." Rebecca stuffs her magazine under the counter and scoops up the guns, returning them to the back. When she returns, she motions for Riza to lean in. "Hey," she whispers, "is that Edward Elric? He looks way different."

Riza glances over at Ed, who is lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling with little zz's rising from his lips. "Yea that's him; he got a new haircut."

Rebecca takes one last look at the teenage boy, "it took me a second to recognize him, I'm so used to the long braided hair. He decided it was time for a change?"

"I guess so," Riza takes a step back, signaling the end of the conversation, and returns to a now snoozing Ed. She nudges the former State Alchemist with her foot, stirring him from his nap. "Come on Ed, time to get some dinner.

* * *

Alright you know the drill, drop me a review!


	4. Practice Makes Perfect

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Since Thanksgiving is tomorrow I decided to post a day early.

I'm just past the 40,000 word point in this story right now, and I am so excited. By time I post chapter 5, I will be done and will begin the overall editing process!

Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter, more of you should review though… I might be more inspired if you did.

This chapter should hopefully make you smile

Disclaimer: FMA be not mine, not now, not ever.

* * *

"Why do I have to work with you?" Ed complains and tries to hold up his menu higher to hide his face as a certain Colonel sits down at the table Ed was waiting at.

"What? You don't like me?" Colonel Roy Mustang can't help but tease the older teen. "Would you rather work with Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

Ed rolls his eyes behind his menu, "Yea, she is way nicer and cooler than you."

Roy ignores the comment and opens up his menu. "I understand your training went well yesterday, and today we are supposed to work on your ability to go undercover. Your new look will be a big help with that."

Ed grumbles from his seat but says nothing.

"Anyway, right now you are going to go places where you have been before and strike up a conversation with someone you have talked to before, but convince them you are someone else. I'll follow closely behind you and observe your actions, then give you advice."

"You are just having way too much fun with this aren't you Colonel bastard?" Ed voices his complaint but stands up anyway, placing his menu down on the café's table. "Look, Fuery is sitting over there all alone, how about I start with him?"

Roy glances over at the unsuspecting Sergeant Major. "Sure go for it."

Ed takes a deep breath, then goes over and plops down at Fuery's table. "Hey," he greets, trying to sound as cool as possible.

Fuery practically chokes on the sandwich he is eating, then places it down before addressing the person who just rudely interrupted his lunch. "Hey…" he says back nervously.

"So… what's up?" Ed smiles at Fuery, hoping that he can't tell who Ed really is under the super short haircut.

Fuery picks up his sandwich again as if that explains everything. "Not much, I'm just eating lunch. I eat here every week. By the way… do I know you?" Fuery takes another bite out of his sandwich, peering at Ed curiously.

Ed shakes his head, "No we don't know each other, I just thought you looked lonely and decided to sit down and give you some company." Ed is relieved when Fuery accepts the story easily.

Fuery stuffs in the rest of his sandwich, takes a huge sip of water, and leans back in his seat. "My name is Kain, what's yours?"

"Oh… ummm…" Ed glances over his shoulder at Roy, who pretends to be absorbed in his water. "My name is… Sam! Yea… my name is Sam!"

Fuery chuckles lightly in amusement. "I didn't mean to take you by surprise Sam. You seem so familiar though, that hair color, and that voice…" Fuery trails off, once again looking confused.

Ed shakes his head, "Nope we've definitely never met! Anyway I gotta go, but it was nice meeting you Kain!"

Ed jumps up from the table as fast as his legs will let him and jets out of the café, leaving Fuery alone, wondering if all of that actually happened, or if he merely imagined it.

* * *

"So Fuery was a failure… I think you came on too strongly, with the "Hey" and everything. Maybe next time try initiating a conversation with someone near him, and draw him into you, then it doesn't seem like you are attacking him or trying to get his attention specifically." Roy explains as he smirks at an exhausted Ed who is huffing loudly as he crouches down next to the café.

"I barely know Fuery, and he almost caught on!" Ed sinks lower onto his haunches, "this is harder than I thought."

Roy grabs Ed's right arm and hauls him to his feet. "Come on Fullmetal, you don't usually give up so easily, look, Havoc is in that shop, he's so dense, I bet you can fool him easily." Roy gives Ed a hard shove, forcing him to stumble over to the shop.

Ed pushes the door open slowly, but a bell rings out revealing his entrance into the shop.

"Welcome!" The shop owner calls out from the back of the shop.

Ed raises one of his hands to wave, and turns to walk around the perimeter of the shop. Havoc is in the back, talking to some random girl about how pretty her eyes are. Ed pauses for a moment, and then realizes how he is going to get the attention of the girl talking to Havoc.

"I think you have more in you than just pretty eyes, how about you and I go on a date sometime and we can find out together?" Ed pushes himself between Havoc and the girl, much to Havoc's dismay and the girl's delight.

Havoc places one hand onto Ed's arm, "Hey buddy, can't you see we are having a conversation here?"

The girl reaches out and latches onto Ed's other arm, ripping him away from Havoc, "You are way nicer than this jerk, here's my number!" The girl pushes a small piece of paper into Ed's hand, which he accepts with a fake smile.

The girl releases Ed, leaving the store with a wave and a giggle.

Ed stuffs the paper into his pocket, but before he can get away Havoc steps into his vision. "That was wrong dude; you shouldn't have stepped between me and that pretty girl."

Ed shrugs, suddenly losing the adrenaline that he had felt rush through him when he stepped in front of Havoc. "Sorry, but she just wasn't that into you." Havoc narrows his eyes as he looks over Ed, seeming to suspect that something isn't quite right. Ed figures this is his chance to take off. "Well, I gotta go!" Ed takes off from his spot, avoiding Havoc's reaching hands and launching out of the shop. He quickly ducks around the shop's corner, ignoring the questioning gaze from Roy.

After a moment, Havoc runs out of the shop, but since he didn't see where Ed went, he simply shrugs and walks down the street, nodding a hello to his superior officer who just happens to be standing outside of the store.

Once Havoc disappears, Roy steps back out onto the street. "I thought he was going to strangle me." Ed fishes around in his pocket and pulls out the piece of paper. He blanches and rips the paper up after glancing at the seven digits scribbled on it.

Roy laughs at Ed's expression, "I'd say you were pretty successful this time, Havoc had no clue it was you. I think that is enough for today, you've had enough practice."

"Great, I have some reading up on the West to do." Ed stuffs his hands into his pockets and walks away, once again leaving the Flame Alchemist on his own.

* * *

Please review!


	5. Winry

I finished! I've begun editing, and that includes going back to the beginning. Earlier today I fixed up the first four chapters, not huge plot differences, just word choice and some grammar.

I hope you all had a great thanksgiving, and I hope you enjoy the slight shippyness of this chapter.

Disclaimer: Regardless of what others may tell you, I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

* * *

Ed stayed up most of the night studying his maps of the West, and was hoping to get a few extra hours of sleep. Fate however, had other plans.

"Edward Elric! I have come for you, please open the door!" A loud booming voice that could only belong to Alex Armstrong fills the hotel room at the wee hour of 7:00 AM. "I have returned from the wondrous town of Resembool."

Ed mumbles and groans from where he had passed out on his bed a few hours before. "Coming…" Ed rolls off of his bed and stumbles over to the door, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he goes.

"What do you want?" Ed asks as he cracks open his door. The first thing he sees is one Blue eye and half of a smiling face peering at him through the crack. "Wi…Winry!" Ed falls back into the room, landing on his ass as the door swings the rest of the way open. "What are you doing here?" He demands, raising one finger to point at her while his mouth gapes open like a fish.

Winry steps into the room and flicks on the lights, taking in Ed's messy appearance. "I'm here to take care of your automail of course, and I never get to see you anyway…" Winry pauses as she glances over her shoulder, a reminder that Alex Armstrong is still waiting outside the room. "…we'll talk later. Anyway, we just got into town, so Major Armstrong figured he'd bring me here, since I'm staying with you since Al's bed is now free. Thank you for escorting me Major Armstrong." Winry turns to face the Major, a smile showing on her face.

Armstrong bows, "anything for you milady, I hope you had a safe and lovely journey. Colonel Mustang has informed me that I am to train Ed in the ways of muscles later today, I will teach him everything that has been passed down in my family from generation to generation!"

"That sounds great, I'll make sure to tell him when he is more awake," Winry glances at the clock, "He will see you tomorrow for training, good night and take care Major Armstrong."

"Good night Miss Winry Rockbell, Edward Elric." Armstrong disappears down the corridor and Winry shuts the door with a sigh. Meanwhile, Ed is still sitting on the floor, frozen with his finger up, in absolute shock.

Winry turns to face the teen, and lets out a sigh, "What did you do with your hair Ed? You grew it out for so long and then just decided to cut it all off? I know Al said you have a mission and you would be gone for a long time but he wouldn't give me any details. Let's get some sleep for now; we can talk after you've slept more."

Ed nods, and silently pushes himself off the floor, and sleepily walks back to his bed, collapsing and returning to snoozeville, sincerely hoping that all of this is just a dream.

When Ed stirs from his nap, he is not expecting his childhood friend to be peacefully sleeping away in the bed beside his own. But there she is, curled up in a small, cute ball.

Err… not cute, anything but that…

Ed feels heat rise to his ears, and he rolls over, squeezing his eyes shut. "When I open my eyes she will be gone, when I open my eyes when I open my eyes she will be gone…" Ed peeks over his shoulder, and then turns his head back quickly, "she's still here! I thought all of that was a dream…what should I do?"

Ed jumps off of his bed with an amount of energy that he doesn't usually possess at this time of the day. He slides out of the room and down the hall to use the bathroom and take a shower.

When he returns, Winry has awakened, and is sitting up on her bed looking expectantly at Ed.

"Uh hey there Winry…" Ed runs one hand through his now short hair, trying to think of something cool to say.

Winry stands up and goes over to the mirror, where she starts brushing her hair as she addresses the other teen in the room, "I'll see you later for you automail maintenance, you still have a few days until you leave right? We'll talk later then, right now you need to go see Armstrong."

Ed feels a strong shiver run down his spine at the thought of the large shirtless man who is eagerly waiting for him. "You're right, I'd better go meet him, what does he want me for again?"

"He said something about muscle training, maybe for your new arm." Winry's gaze shifts downward, and Ed can tell she is looking at his new arm through the mirror's reflection.

"I'm sorry," Ed jokes lightly, "the old automail got destroyed before I got my arm back, so I have nothing to return to you."

Winry shakes her head and looks away, "You dummy, I'm not worried about that, now get going." Winry exits the room without another word, leaving Ed to his thoughts.

Ed only has to wander around the Central base for a few minutes before locating Armstrong. He is inside a room labeled, "Armstrong's Training Room," and at first Ed thinks it is a joke, but after a moment he can hear Armstrong moving around inside.

Ed doesn't bother knocking and mentally prepares himself before pushing the door open. Of course, the training room is way more extreme than he ever expected. All four walls are covered in mirrors, and huge weights are strewn all over the floor. These aren't ordinary weights. These weights weigh 500 pounds and higher, the 500 pound one looks small next to the 2000 pound one.

In the middle of the room, Armstrong is laying on the ground, doing sit-ups with a 1000 pound weight sitting on his chest.

He lets out a grunt from effort, as he quickly leans forward, then back down. "998…999…1000," Armstrong glances up, and his face brightens at the appearance of the older Elric brother. "Oh, Edward Elric you're here!" Armstrong throws the weight to the side of the room and jumps to his feet, any sign of weariness gone.

Ed takes a small step back towards the door, not liking his surroundings one little bit. "Hey… so I have to train… with these?"

Armstrong crosses his arms, giving Ed the once over. "Well, I think these might be a little too big for you." Ed visibly sighs in relief as Armstrong continues, "I was instructed to strengthen your weaker arm so it equals your stronger arm, for that we need low weights with a lot of repetition. We are going to start with a 50 pounder and move up from there."

* * *

Please Review!


	6. Emotions Are Running High

Here's a little Armstrong, a little Roy, and a little Winry all wrapped up into one chapter. This one is a little longer than the previous two, and I hope you guys enjoy it.

Disclaimer: FMA Be Not Mine.

* * *

Armstrong goes over to the nearest wall, and pulls open one of the mirrors to reveal a smaller set of weights. These ones range from 10 pounds to 100 pounds. With practiced ease, Armstrong picks up the whole rack and carries it to the center of the room, setting it down gently as if it were a small child.

He picks up the 50 pounder and offers it to the older Elric brother. Ed looks at the weight, which is bigger than his palm, and reaches out to take it with his stronger arm. He grips the weight firmly, and finds that he can easily lift it. Unfortunately, when he shifts the weight to his other hand, he feels the force pull his hand practically to the ground, and uses his stronger hand to support it. "I think this one might be a little too heavy." Ed hands the weight back to Armstrong, and grabs the 20 pounder. "We have plenty of time; I'll start by curling this a few times, then make my way up."

Armstrong seems deep in thought and his sparkle flitters around his head happily. "We can do other things while you do that then! First we will do 100 push-ups, then 100 sit-ups, then 100 pull-ups, then you can curl the 20 pound weight while we do 100 minutes of wall sits."

Ed sweat drops, but gets down on the floor to start his 100 push-ups. Armstrong gets down as well, "We will do them together Edward Elric! 1…2…3…"

10 pushups later, and Ed feels like his new arm is on the verge of collapsing. A bead of sweat rolls down his chin as he lowers himself down, and he somehow is able to push himself back up. "I can do this," he tells himself; thinking back to the tough training that Izumi Curtis had put him through. Ed grits his teeth, and focuses in, and soon enough, he's finished 100 pushups.

"Next is 100 sit-ups." Armstrong hasn't even broken a sweat, and he flips over onto his back. Ed does the same, relieved to be doing a less strenuous task. The sit-ups only take around 10 minutes, and then he moves on to the pull ups. This turns out to be even harder than a the push-ups. Eventually Ed does finish, but by time he gets to the wall sits, he's exhausted and breathing heavily.

Armstrong looks down with concern at Ed. "Are you alright?" He leans down slightly, placing one oversized hand on Ed's red face. "Would you like to take a break?"

Ed takes a step back, shaking his head no rapidly. "I'm fine, let's keep going." A look of grim determination settles on Ed's face, so Armstrong drops the topic. Ed leans down to pick up the 20 pound weight, and begins his 100 minute wall sit…

* * *

"You look like crap."

Ed glares up at the person looming in front of him, then returns to gulping down his glass of water.

"Armstrong put you through the ringer huh?"

Ed puts down the glass with a sigh, "shut up Colonel bastard."

Roy sits down at the cafeteria table, grinning smugly at the tired teen. Ed realizes he must look terrible, after the 100 minutes of wall sits, Armstrong made them do they whole cycle again 3 more times, then finally let him go when Ed couldn't raise his arms anymore. "You know that you are seeing him again tomorrow right?"

Ed shudders at the thought, "What? He nearly killed me today!"

Roy shrugs, "You need that arm to get stronger, and this is the best way."

Ed shakes his head, seeming to shrink in his seat. "No way, besides, Winry is doing maintenance on my leg tomorrow." Ed crosses his arms, proud of himself for coming up with an excuse.

Roy grabs Ed's empty cup as he responds, "Armstrong in the morning, Winry in the afternoon, you have plenty of time for both. You only have a few days until you leave, please try to be serious for once."

"You're one to talk," Ed grumbles as he tries to snatch his cup back from Roy, who moves it just out of his reach.

"You're still too short, drink some more milk and I'll see you later." Roy rises from his chair, leaving Ed blubbering to himself about how tall he has become in the last 6 months.

"One day I'll be even taller than that Colonel bastard," Ed's complaints trail off as he realizes he is alone. He stands up himself, and heads off back to his hotel room for a hot shower and a long nap.

When Ed wakes up the next morning, Winry is fortunately already gone from the room. He goes though his typical morning rituals, then remembers he has to go see Armstrong again today. "If I don't show up he's going to come looking for me." Ed mumbles to himself as he brushes his teeth. "I know! I'll go over to the building, but I'll hide out in some rooms or something, that way when he looks for me, he won't find me, but later I can say I was there and it won't be a lie."

Ed finishes getting ready, then heads over to headquarters. As he's walking, he takes a moment to enjoy the weather. Since it's the middle of summer, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, shops are open and have hopping business. Winry is looking into a window…

Wait…

Winry?

Ed backs up a few steps, blinking rapidly. Indeed Winry Rockbell is looking wistfully into a window, but Ed can't see what she is looking at because of the glare from the sun.

"Hmm… if I get Winry to hide out with me I won't be as bored." Ed muses to himself. He crosses the street to the unsuspecting blond and taps on her shoulder lightly. Winry turns around quickly, as she was surprised by the tap.

'Ed!" She takes in his still slightly weary appearance, "I wasn't expecting to see you until this afternoon, you were out cold when I got back to the room yesterday and were still asleep when I left this morning."

Ed laughs at the long winded explanation, and then glances down the street. From far away, he can make out the large, shirtless body that belongs to Alex Armstrong. "Hey Winry… We need to run this way, right now!" Ed grabs Winry's wrist and drags her into an alleyway, much to her protest. He drags her all the way to an intersection, then sharply cuts to the right.

"Ed!" Winry protests again, so Ed slows down, making sure that no one is following him. "What was that about?" Winry demands, ripping her arm out of Ed's grasp.

"Sorry about that Winry, I'm supposed to visit Armstrong today for more muscle training, but yesterday he almost killed me! I can't go through that again, so I'm hiding. Later I'll make an excuse, like I forgot where to go or something."

Winry shakes her head in disappointment, but smiles slightly at Ed's antics. "Ed… you can't just skip out on training, don't you need to strengthen your new arm?" Winry reaches out, wrapping her fingers around Ed's recently returned arm. She raises it up, turning it over to look at it from every angle.

Ed looks down, but doesn't withdraw his arm. "It's fine, I think I strengthened it enough anyway…"

Winry glances up, but Ed won't make eye contact. "You are going off on another dangerous journey, and I can't strengthen your arm for you like before. What are you going to do if it fails you when you need it the most."

Ed can't help but comment, "because your automail never did that…"

"Ed!" Winry tightens her grip on his arm, and suddenly Ed can tell this is more than just about his new arm. "You just finished saving the world, and now you are going off for who knows how long. Why do you have to keep doing this?" Ed looks up, and Winry's blue eyes meet his. She sniffles once, and brings one hand up to wipe her eyes. "I'm sorry, this is just so overwhelming."

"Winry… it'll be fine, this is going to make me stronger, and I'm sure I'll be home within a year." Ed places his free hand on her shoulder, which fits easily into his palm, another reminder of how small and fragile she is compared to the older Elric brother.

Winry wipes her eyes again, "Are you sure you'll be safe out there?"

Ed nods, drawing Winry into a hug. Winry drops Ed's arm and embraces him back, finally letting the emotions that had been building since she arrived in Central out of their bottle. "I was so worried when you and Al were traveling these past few years. Every time you came home your automail was in shambles, and now you are going so far away. If something were to happen…"

"You have nothing to worry about," Ed soothes as he tries to calm down his childhood friend. He pats her on the head awkwardly, not quite sure what to do beyond this point. "I'll be fine, and besides, you are going to teach me some automail stuff today right?"

Winry nods, releasing Ed from the hug. "Right," she smiles slightly as she makes eye contact for the final time with the golden-haired teen. "I'll teach you everything I know!"

* * *

Please Review! (Please!)


	7. Automail

Hey everyone, happy Thursday! And also happy finals week is over! I want you guys to read this carefully and please consider my question at the end.

Disclaimer: At no time in my life have I owned Fullmetal Alchemist, and at no time will I ever own it.

* * *

"I know you said you would teach me everything you know, but I think this might be too much…" Ed grumbles as he looks at the huge stack of papers Winry has plopped down in front of him.

The two are back in their hotel room, where Winry is doing her one assigned task, automail maintenance.

"You can read these over while I do maintenance on your leg… you've grown taller again." Winry comments as she places one hand onto Ed's automail foot, untying his shoe.

"Yes!" Ed cheers, fist pumping the air, "I knew it! The Colonel told me I didn't, but I actually did, take that you Flame Alchemist bastard!"

Meanwhile, Winry has removed Ed's shoe, sock, and pants, and is disconnecting his leg. "Yea yea, read the papers, you might need this information while you're in the West."

Ed picks up the first one and squints at the drawings and scribbles on the page. "I can't understand this at all; can't you just tell me everything I need to know?" Ed drops the paper back onto the stack and can feel Winry rolling her eyes even though her is back is now to the former alchemist as she goes to work on his leg.

"Fine… I guess you don't need to learn _all_ of that." Winry moves to the other side of her table so she is facing Ed, "watch what I'm doing. The first thing you need to know is that every screw in your leg can be loosened and tightened with only one type of screwdriver, the triangle headed one. This is not a common tool, so I'm going to give you one, don't lose it, you wouldn't want your leg to just fall off one day. Ed are you even listening?"

"Ya huh…" Ed looks down at his automail leg, but doesn't seem to be paying much attention.

Winry doesn't want to start an argument so she continues, "You won't ever need to go deeper than the first layer when it comes to maintenance, just make sure you don't disrupt the cables. Red goes to red, blue goes to blue, and so on. If these pieces of metal become bent, just pull them out and flatten them, then put them back in." Winry loosens a few screws and pulls out a sheet of metal that is bent into a half circle. "This is the guard for the joints connecting your foot to your ankle, make sure this one stays in good shape."

Ed nods, trying to show that he is sort of tuned in.

Winry puts the metal back into the leg, then picks it up to show Ed the part that connects to his body. "These are the joints that connect to your leg, you have to make sure to line them up carefully and correctly or the toes won't work right. This is the most important part. You have to line the rods of metal up just right, then use the screwdriver to tighten it down."

Ed's face lights up in recognition, "You're connecting the nerves right? I hate that part."

Winry grabs a few pieces of metal from her bag, and after some whirring and molding, is finished adjusting Ed's leg. "I need you to try it on so I can see if I got the height right." She pushes the leg up to Ed's stump, and connects it before he can get a word out edgewise.

"Ow… you coulda warned me Winry." Ed mumbles but stands up, showing that Winry had aced the height. "Yea this feels much better than before, suddenly the world is less crooked." Ed jumps up and down a few times, testing the leg. "Good job Winry!"

Winry wipes a bead of sweat off her forehead as she responds, "No problem, anything for my best automail customer."

Ed looks over at Winry, and a strange feeling rushes to his chest. Well lately he's been having this feeling more and more often, but only around a certain mechanic. "Hey Winry… tonight is my last night in Central, and umm… do you want to go to dinner with me? And with the Colonel's gang of course, one big group dinner thing…"

Winry's eyes snap up, and for a moment, Ed thinks he's said the wrong thing.

"Sure! One last night together would be awesome. Well I gotta go, I'll see you later Ed." Winry scoops up her stuff, and Ed can see a slight hint of red on her cheeks at the suggestion. She rushes out of the room, leaving Ed to contemplate what just happened.

* * *

Hey, so I know it was kind of short…

Here's the question:

Should I write in the going out and having fun scene? When I originally wrote the story in November I just skipped over it and jumped to Ed leaving, but do you guys want me to put something together?


	8. Dahn Ren

Hey guys, I'm sorry this is a day late, I was thinking about this on Wednesday, but then on Thursday I completely forgot to post! I hope you all can forgive me.

Thanks for all of the reviews last chapter, I decided not to write it, that way I can reference it later in a funny way and no one will know what I'm talking about.

These next few chapters are about my OC's for the story.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Full Metal Alchemist can be described in many ways, one of which is not mine.

* * *

That night the gang went out, and had a lovely time sitting around the dinner table, cracking jokes and having fun like there was no tomorrow.

However, tomorrow can't be held off forever, and it is time for Ed to leave. Similar to Al, he is taking the train.

Roy, Riza, Armstrong, and Winry have come to see him off. Ed feels a few butterflies flitter in his stomach at the impending goodbyes.

Roy steps up to Ed, but simply pats him on the head wordlessly and walks away, leaving Riza in his place. She smiles warmly at the teen.

"Good luck Ed." Riza draws Ed into a hug, surprising the former Alchemist. He hasn't known the stoic lieutenant to be emotional very often. Riza gives Ed once last squeeze before turning to follow Roy, all emotion drained from her face like it was never there in the first place.

Ed winces when Armstrong approaches him and is pulled into another gut crushing hug. Ed is then hoisted three feet above the ground, his feet dangling as his breath is squeezed out of him. "I will miss you Edward Elric, it has been fun training with you, even if I could not find you yesterday, we should do it again once you return!"

Ed smiles through the pain, exhaling his held breath he had been holding when Armstrong drops him back to the ground.

Winry is last, and she hides her sadness behind a wide smile, smothering Ed in her embrace. "Now, don't forget what I taught you about your automail."

Ed nods, "Right."

"And don't forget to brush your teeth every day. And definitely don't forget to shower!"

"Winry, I know all that." Ed steps back out of their hug, "I'll be back before you know it."

Winry looks down at her hands, hiding her eyes from Ed. "And don't forget to make an appointment." Winry's voice is practically a whisper but Ed nods as he takes another step away from his childhood friend. He turns slowly and steps onto the train, leaving his old life behind and adopting a new life, the life of Edward Rockbell.

* * *

The train that Ed boards has recently arrived from the East, so it is packed to the brim with people trying to cross the country. Almost every seat is filled with families, soldiers, and random travelers. Ed can only see one available seat in the car, which is next to a xingese teenager. The teen appears to be just under 6 feet tall, and he is hunched over in his seat with his head resting in his hands.

Ed walks over to the open seat awkwardly, and for a moment stands in the aisle silently, staring at the kid. "Uh…" Ed clears his throat, and the teen looks up from his seat.

"Oh sorry," the teen realizes what Ed wants and scoots towards the window so Ed can join him on the small bench.

The teen turns to stare out the window as the train lurches from Central Station. It picks up speed, and soon hits the countryside. Trees blur together in streaks of brown and green.

Ed settles into his seat, he has a long six hour train ride ahead of him. He closes his eyes, and lets the bumps and hums of the train lull him to sleep.

However; after a few moments, he cracks his eyes back open, and notices the xingese teen has rotated in his seat and is looking nervously at Ed.

Ed sits up in his seat, so he is facing the other teen. "So… I'm Ed, what's your name?"

The kid looks down at his hands anxiously as he responds, "I'm Dahn."

"Where you from? Where you going?" Ed leans forward, trying to start up a conversation with Dahn, who doesn't look completely comfortable with his situation.

"I'm from the East, well originally from Xing I guess. My parents told me to go West and join the Army, so that's what I'm doing… How about you?"

Ed takes a deep breath, it's time to deliver his story, "I'm joining the Army too! I worked for an automail company in Central, but they closed a few months ago. I couldn't find any more work, so I decided to enlist. I heard the West has the best program of the five, so that's where I'm going."

Much to Ed's relief, Dahn nods and starts talking about his family and their life in the East. With Ed's story clearing its first test Ed lets himself relax, listening to Dahn explain the complications of being a xingese in a country where amestrian's are the majority.

"Are you nervous?" Dahn asks after he is finished talking about his home, looking to Ed for an answer.

Ed shakes his head, "I feel pretty confident about it, I've learned a few things about weapons and tactics from the person who owned the shop I worked at, so I think I'll do fine. Are you?"

"I… I think I am nervous." Dahn gulps deeply, shifting his gaze to one side. "I've never done anything like this before, and I want to prove myself to my family."

Ed places one hand onto Dahn's nearest shoulder with a smile, "I'm sure you will."

The two fall into silence, but it is interrupted by the ticket collector coming down the aisle. Since Ed is the only new addition to the passenger cart, he stops next to his seat. "Ticket?"

Ed grumbles, but fishes through his pocket for his ticket. "Here, I'm riding all the way out West."

The ticket collector looks over the ticket, punches a hole in it, and returns it to Ed. "Make sure to hang on to this because you will need it if someone patrols later looking for stowaways."

Ed nods and places the ticket back into his pocket. The ticket collector leaves, and Ed finally get to his nap. He still has 5 hours and 30 minutes of a train ride to go…

* * *

Ed sleeps smoothly for the majority of the train ride, and is soon shaken awake by his new friend.

"We're here," Dahn seems nervous again as he looks out the window at the city that has engulfed the train. A huge sign in the distance reads, "Welcome to LaRouge! Population: 2,499."

Ed thanks Dahn for waking him, and the two make their way to the front of the car so they can get off the train when it comes to a stop.

Ed grabs his luggage from the front of the passenger car as the train pulls into the station. He steps out of the car lightly and glances over his shoulder to make sure Dahn is following him. For once, Ed is grateful for all of the studying he was forced to do in central as he now knows LaRouge city like the back of his hand.

Ed navigates the town with practiced ease, only making three wrong turns before finding the military headquarters.

The headquarters is larger than Ed imagined. It stretches a quarter of a mile from left to right, is three stories tall, and who knows how far deep it extends. The building is painted a dull gray, which only confirms to Ed that this is indeed a military building.

Ed hesitates at the door, takes a deep breath, and enters the main lobby. He is met with more dull gray, a few random tables and chairs, and a countertop with a soldier sitting behind it. The soldier's head is down as he is completely absorbed with the paper between his hands.

Ed is unsure of what to do next, so he turns to his new friend with an encouraging smile. "How about you go first?"

Dahn doesn't look like he wants to, but he steps up anyway. He goes up the counter, but the soldier doesn't even glance up from the paper he is reading.

"Um… Hello…" Dahn shrinks back from the desk as the soldiers gaze snaps up, his eyes narrowing as he realizes he is not alone.

"Name?"

"D…Dahn Ren"

The soldier pulls out a manila folder from his counter and flips it open, revealing a list of names. He runs his finger down the list, "ah yes, Dahn Ren, you're on here, we got some mail saying you would be here a few days ago." The soldier looks up, making eye contact with Ed, who is still lingering in the back of the room. "And you are?"

Ed steps forward, inhaling deeply, "Edward Rockbell." Ed speaks clearly, not wanting there to be any doubt about his identity.

The soldier goes back to his list, "you're on here too, I'll call the Commander to show the two of you around, then you'll get your room assignments. Training starts tomorrow at 0500." The soldier picks up the phone on his counter and dials a few numbers, then says a few quick words into the receiver before placing it back on the phone base. "He'll be here in a moment. A quick warning though, Commander Root is extremely strict; I wouldn't get on his wrong side. If you do, your three weeks here will be a living hell."

* * *

Well, please review, I love reviews!


	9. Matt Kendler

Hey everyone, I am so sorry that this is three days late. I am in the Spartan Marching Band and we went to Arizona for the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (Go Green!) We left Thursday morning and I just got home.

I promise to try to be more timely.

A note: Dahn's name is pronounced like Dawn without the w. like ahhhhh but with a d on the front and an n on the back. I hope this helps... His last name is like rent without the t.

Disclaimer: No matter how late a chapter is, I still not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

* * *

"Thanks for the advice." Ed moves to stand next to Dahn, and after a few moments of silence, a large man that could be three shirt sizes larger than Armstrong enters the room. Standing around 6 foot 7, Commander Root is nothing to laugh at. He has crew cut light brown hair and muscles the size of grapefruits. However, he has managed to keep his shirt on, but just barely.

"My name is Jeebus Root, but for the next three weeks, you can call me Commander Root. Is that clear?" Root stares down at his two newest recruits, inspecting them with intense scrutiny.

"Yes sir!" Ed snaps his feet together and salutes. After a moment, Dahn does the same.

Ed locks eyes with Root, holding his gaze steady with Root's dark brown eyes. "I am ready for training sir," Ed says strongly.

"Did I tell you to speak soldier?" Root snaps loudly, causing Dahn to jump slightly in surprise.

"No sir," Ed admits, but still holds Root's gaze. He's had practice with some pretty tough commanders.

"You two will do just fine, at ease. Now, let's get going on your tour, follow me Cadets."

Ed drops his hand, grinning over at Dahn, who returns the smile but can't get the look of concern off his face. The two follow Root as he leads them into the back.

"…and last but not least, these are the dorms." Root motions widely with his arm, but Ed is not impressed with the narrow hall with a plain grey door every ten feet or so.

Root checks a clipboard hanging from the wall, "Rockbell you're in room 110, Ren you're in room 168. Report to your dorms, dinner is at 1930 hours."

"Yes sir!" Both Ed and Dahn salute, turning to head down the hallway. The even rooms are the on the right, the odd ones the left. They are counting up from 100. 110 soon appears on the right, so Ed says goodbye to his new friend and pushes open the door to his new room.

The room is plain; every wall is again painted grey, with two bunk beds, two wood desks, and two cabinets; all of which are empty. No one is in the room, but Ed figures he'll be introduced to his new roommate sooner or later.

An alarm clock is resting on one of the cabinets, and it reads 6:00 pm. Ed pushes his suitcase over to the cabinet on the right side of the room, and plops down into his new chair.

In the hallway, Ed can hear some voices echoing from a distance. "106…108…ah, 110!" The room to Ed's door swings open, and he comes face to face with a tall, gangly teenager, with a toothy grin stretched across his face. "Hey there new roommate!" The kid takes a huge step into the room, wheeling his luggage in behind him. He is around 6 foot 3, has short jet black hair, and is so skinny Ed could probably wrap his arms around him twice.

Ed stands up from his seat, excited to meet someone who isn't shy or relatable to Armstrong. "Hey," Ed greets warmly as the teen turns to shut the door.

"I'm Matt!" Matt sticks his hand out for a shake, and Ed meets him eagerly.

"I'm Ed."

Matt releases Ed's hand and pushes his bag over to the left cabinet, "Nice to meet you Ed. I just finished getting my tour, wasn't that guy huge?"

Ed nods, "Yea definitely."

Matt sits down in his chair on the left, and Ed does the same. "So… why did you enlist?" Matt leans forward, his smile never fading.

"I'm from Central, I worked in an automail shop there, but after they closed down I couldn't find any work, so I came out here to enlist. I heard the West is the best of the best." Ed holds eye contact with Matt, feeding him the lie smoothly.

"That's cool, I'm from out here, the West. My family are all farmers, but the crops aren't growing so good, so I'm out here to make some money for 'em. My first paycheck is going back home as soon as it is in my pocket." Matt's expression flashes serious for a moment, then he returns to grinning.

"Did you have to travel far to get here?" Ed keeps the questions flowing, the less attention he brings to himself, the better.

Matt nods, "I walked here from a few towns over, I left at 10 this morning, so it only took 8 hours. I've walked further though… in my hometown the nearest shop is an hour away, so I've had a lot of practice."

Ed can feel his jaw drop slightly as Matt speaks. "8 hours? That's amazing! I think it would be so cool to walk for that long."

Matt laughs lightly at Ed's comment, "We can do it sometime, I'm sure I'll go visit home once we finish training here."

Ed nods, "For sure. This program is three weeks right?"

"Yea," Matt unzips his bag, pulling out a pamphlet that reads "Western Training" on the front. "The program is split into three chunks, one for each week. The first week is boot camp, second is weaponry, and third is tactics. Then we graduate and are placed into a platoon in the real Army." Matt passes the pamphlet over to Ed, who is wondering why he never got one back in Central.

"Thanks," Ed flips the pamphlet open, and is met with a thorough explanation of the three week training program. "I'll make sure to read this over later." Ed glances up at the clock, which now says 7:00. "Should we start going to the cafeteria? I think being late would be a really bad idea."

Matt glances up as well, "Yea you're right, let's go."

Ed drops the pamphlet on his desk and stands up, Matt doing the same. As Ed opens the door he comments, "I met another new kid named Dahn, he's kind of quiet, but I think you'll like him."

Matt's never fading smile grows at the chance to make a new friend. "Cool."

* * *

So, who do you guys like the best so far? Matt, Root, or Dahn?


	10. Randall Shapiro

Happy New Year everyone!

Another OC introduction chapter, you guys really should tell me who you like the best or I'll never know if any of them are hitting it off.

Disclaimer: Even though I updated my profile page to make it look more modern, I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

* * *

Ed isn't very surprised when the grey walls of the cafeteria greet him, as he has yet to see a wall of any other color. The room is pretty spacious, and has ten or eleven long tables in neat rows, with benches to sit on. On the far wall is a food line, where other Cadets have lined up and are pushing their trays down the line to get food. The food doesn't look bad, some kind of beef stew with a side of mashed potatoes.

Matt walks over to the line first, with Ed right behind him, "It smells good," Ed comments, peeking around Matt to get an extra look at the food.

Matt nods, grabbing a tray from the stack against the wall. The two make their way to the front of the line, get their food, and then have the task of finding a table. The one furthest from the food line is empty, so Ed and Matt sit down across from each other at one end.

Ed is facing the main part of the cafeteria, so he is the first to see a group of kids form a circle in the middle of the cafeteria. Ed motions to Matt, so he turns to look. "Isn't it a little early for them to be fighting?"

Matt agrees, "I think I saw someone in the being forced into the middle, I wonder what he did to cross them, we can't even see there are so many of them."

Ed stands up, "We can't just leave an innocent kid to get beat up. Back in my hometown, I would always help people in trouble."

Matt stands up slowly, still peering into the mob of soldiers, "You're right Ed, lets rescue the kid and teach those bullies a lesson!"

Ed and Matt cross the cafeteria in a few bounds. Ed steps into the mob, pulling the first person he can reach out of the circle. "Move it," he grunts, grabbing a second kid and forcing his way to the center. Matt is right behind him, trying to reason with the nearest thug.

Ed freezes as he recognizes the kid sitting on the ground in the middle of the mob. "Dahn!" Ed leans down and grabs Dahn by his arm, pulling him into a standing position. Once Dahn is balanced, he spins around, trying to pinpoint the leader of the group.

As if on cue, the smallest guy in the circle raises his arm, signaling for the gang to stop. They comply, and back up, forming a circle around Ed, Matt, and Dahn.

"Well well what do we have here? I didn't know a xingese kid could make friends outside his type." The leader mocks Dahn with a chuckle, taking a step forward to distinguish him from his lackeys.

Ed takes a step towards the leader, happy that for once, this guy is around his height.

Maybe around 5 foot 6, the leader of the gang has crew cut brown hair, a mean look in his eyes, and enough muscle to knock Ed into the next room.

"The name's Randall." Randall steps right in front of Ed, practically pressing their noses together. "Who are you and why are you defending this xingese kid?"

Ed narrows his gold eyes, silently daring Randall to break the contact. "I'm Ed, and Dahn is one of my friends. I don't let other people beat up my friends."

A smirk settles onto Randall's face, "So… you think you can take me?"

Ed smirks back, finding his confidence, "I don't just think, I know."

Randall takes a small step forward, bringing his right arm up in a fist and throwing it blindly, but Ed leans back, cleanly dodging the swipe. He retaliates by placing his hands onto Randall's shoulders and jabbing his knee into the other boy's gut. Randall grunts, causing Dahn to take a fearful step backwards. Matt steps in front of Dahn, shooting Ed a thumbs up.

Randall quickly shakes Ed off and backs up, huffing slightly as he tries to get his breath back. After a second he charges again, aiming his fist at Ed's chin.

With one second to spare Ed ducks down, causing Randall's fist to go over his head. With one swift motion, Ed stands up, flipping Randall over his body. Randall collapses to the ground with a groan and Ed backs away, giving him a second to clamber back to his feet.

Randall starts shifting to his left in a circular motion, so Ed matches. Randall raises one fist and after a moment charges for the third and final time.

The punch is lower, so Ed raises his arms to guard against it, but just as Randall's fist is about to connect with Ed's raised arms, a large beefy hand cuts in, clamping down on Randall's wrist. Ed looks up, shocked to see Commander Root looming over the fighting teens. He yanks up on Randall's wrist, raising him a few inches off the ground. "What did I tell you about fighting Shapiro? That's going to be 10 more laps on your running tonight, and you…" Root turns his dark gaze on Ed, Dahn, and Matt. "…Fighting amongst yourselves is not allowed in this training camp. The three of you will face punishment after class tomorrow morning." Root's head swivels around, looking at the audience, "if all of you don't scram right now you will be joining them."

The crowd disperses quickly and quietly. Root drops Randall to the ground, who slinks away while shooting an angry glare over his right shoulder.

Ed brushes the dust off his shirt, smiling at his two new friends, "Well we got our first punishment."

Dahn slouches over, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "umm… thanks for doing that Ed, you didn't have to save me. No one ever has before."

Ed clasps one hand onto Dahn's shoulder enthusiastically. "We're friends aren't we? Friends stick up for each other."

Matt steps in. "Yea! We are an unbeatable trio."

Dahn looks puzzled so Ed explains, "Dahn, this is Matt. Matt, this is Dahn. Come on, lets get back to our dinner, we can talk more there."

Dahn nods, and the two lead him over to where they left their food. They sit down, and Dahn disappears for a moment then returns with a tray of food.

Stories of the past are shared, meals are eaten, and soon everyone is happy and full.

"So…" Ed places down his fork and leans towards Dahn, "What was with that Randall kid, what does he have against you anyway?"

Dahn looks uncomfortable, but Matt chimes in knowingly, "its because he's xingese. Some folks from out West here are very racist against them. My momma raised me to always love everyone, no matter what they look like."

"We don't have racism in Central," Ed responds wistfully, staring over to where Randall is now sitting with his gang of friends.

"It's bad news," Dahn glances over as well, but quickly looks back down at his plate. "Those guys said they're in their second week here, but that means we'll still have to avoid them for two weeks."

Ed shrugs, "Randall didn't seem so bad, I think he just has a wrong impression of the xingese people, look at it this way, we have two weeks to turn him good. There are only around ten of us our the new class, so chances are we'll be put near the older graduates once we leave, we definitely want to get on his good side."

Matt nods with a smile. "You're right Ed, maybe under all that hard skin he's actually a softie. He's probably extremely loyal."

Dahn still seems doubtful, "We'll see, I hope you're right. Meanwhile, we have to face punishment tomorrow after class, and the first week of training is boot camp, this is going to be tough."

Ed nods in agreement, "Yea, but I've never faced a challenge I couldn't handle, and this won't be any different."

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A little fight scene for you guys, I hoped it was detailed enough and not confusing.

Well… please review! Reviews will be rewarded with small metal giraffes that I will make with alchemy.


	11. Week 1

In honor of all of the reviews I received I decided to update a day early.

This is the first of the three training camp chapters, it just gives us a little more character for Matt, Dahn, and Randall.

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The next morning, ten weary recruits trudge into the gym, all rubbing the sleep from their eyes. Ed lets out a huge yawn, and waves to Dahn who is just joining up with Matt and Ed.

"Good morning Cadets!" Root's harsh voice startles Ed as a surprisingly awake Commander steps in front of the class. "Now, we will warm up with a mile jog, then 50 jumping jacks, 50 push-ups, and 50 sit-ups, go! Whoever finishes last will have to run an extra lap."

For the first time ever, Ed feels a rush of gratitude for what Armstrong put him through, 50 is only half of 100, so he's all set.

He starts running, with Dahn and Matt flanking him on each side. "Do you guys ever run?" he asks casually. Matt nods, Dahn shakes his head. "We definitely don't want to be last, but we should stick together," Ed comments, but he isn't concerned. Many of the other recruits are already slowing down, and they have only been running for around a minute. Not everyone has been running in circles around Amestris for the past few years.

Dahn glances over at the other soldiers, but Ed brings his attention back to the run. "They don't matter."

The sign says four laps is one mile, and Ed and his friends finish their first lap with ease. Only one kid is running ahead of them, but he shows no sign of slowing down.

A few more minutes pass, and the gang completes their laps. Dahn slows greatly while they run, but finishes strongly at the end. They join the first kid doing jumping jacks, sit-ups, and push-ups.

Even though Matt is skinny, he is strong from working on a farm, and finishes first amongst the group. Ed finishes second, followed by the other kid, then Dahn. By the time he finishes, all of the other kids have finished running and are working on their exercises.

Once finished, the group leans on a nearby wall, watching the other kids finish. Root notices them resting, and walks over, a stern look on his face. "You still owe me punishment from yesterday, once I dismiss everyone else; I want 8 more laps from the three of you."

"Yes sir." Ed salutes, and Root walks away. The rest of the class has finished by now, and they are gathering. Ed stands up, reaching out a hand to help up Dahn and then Matt. They walk over to the group, where Root is waiting for them.

"Now we will do some weight training, go over to the weight room, and make sure you do 25 reps on every machine in there, meet back here when you are done, then we'll dismiss for lunch."

The group salutes, and they head to the workroom for some hard work.

* * *

"Phew I am so ready for lunch," Ed wipes some sweat off his brow, walking side by side with Matt and Dahn from the weight area to the gym.

Matt nods, "Yea but we have to run our eight laps first."

Dahn makes a face at the reminder, "lets just get it over with."

Root is waiting for them, "Alright, everyone is dismissed, see you at 15:00 for more training."

The class salutes, and leave, chattering to each other about lunch and what they are going to do during their time off.

Root walks away as well, glancing at Matt, Ed, and Dahn over his shoulder as he goes.

"We may as well get started…" Ed starts a light jog, and his two friends follow. As they start to make their 8 loops, Ed starts up a conversation.

"I think we should avoid starting fights in the future."

Dahn shoots Ed a nervous glance, "I learned a little more about Randall from my roommate last night, he is in his second week, so he's heard a lot of gossip about the older recruits."

Ed slows his running pace so he's matching Dahn step for step, with Matt a few paces ahead, but his head is turned back curiously.

Dahn takes a deep breath before continuing, "He heard that Randall has a rough past, and its caused him to become closed off and racist. I guess a few years ago his parents were killed by some illegal immigrants who were trying to escape from the authority, leaving Randall to take care of his younger siblings. He struggled to support them, and recently turned to the army for money to send them. His parent's death has made him extremely bitter and my roommate doesn't think we'll be able to change him."

Ed looks down at his recently restored hand thoughtfully, "things that are lost can sometimes be brought back. If I get some alone time with him I bet I can get through to him."

Ed considers what Dahn said carefully, Randall could be quite helpful to his mission.

Randall is the perfect person to invade the corrupt group of officers, since he fits the roll so well. He has a past, a purpose, and the means to get what he wants. Chances are the corrupt leaders will grab him for their club as soon as he graduates. Ed glances at his two friends, for once feeling badly for lying to them. It's for a good reason though, as all of the Amestrian military will be better off once the corrupt officers are found and arrested.

* * *

This chapter was a tad shorter than normal, but I think it was a good stopping point.

Reviews will be rewarded with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.


	12. Week 2

Another sort of filler chapter, but we get to see Ed use what he learned in chapter 2 and Matt shows us just how cool he is.

Disclaimer: I have brought Ed in to do the disclaimer for me…

Ed: Uh yea… what do I say?

Me: Come on short stuff… we went over this.

Ed: Who are you calling so short he can't reach stuff on high shelves?!

Me: Disclaimer Ed, focus!

Ed: Fine… Baxter54132 does not own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood or any of the characters.

* * *

The first week goes smoothly for Ed and his new friends. They train every morning and every afternoon, with three square meals a day. Randall keeps his distance, but sometimes Ed catches him looking over at their table. Ed always meets his gaze, holding it until Randall looks away, returning to the conversation with his friends.

By the end of the week, Ed is sore from all the running, lifting, and calisthenics. He's grateful when Root announces they will be moving onto weaponry, allowing their bodies to rest a little.

"Right," Root paces in front of the ten students, each at their own desk in their assigned classroom. "Who can tell me the three rules of gun safety?"

Ed perks up in his seat, remembering Riza's words from his training so long ago. After a moment, he raises his hand, eager to show off what he has learned. Root looks pleased that he raised his hand and calls on him, motioning for him to stand.

Ed jumps up enthusiastically, "Ok, first, don't put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to fire. Second, always point the gun away from allies and towards enemies. Third, always assume the gun is loaded." Ed finishes with a smile, plopping back into his seat.

Root nods, "that's right, guns are not toys, but weapons, and they are to be treated with respect." Root walks over to a gun locker resting at the side of the room and unlocks it, revealing three weapons. Ed cheers inwardly as he recognizes them as the ones he learned from Riza. "Follow me, we are going to the gun range. The only way you Cadets are going to learn about these weapons is by testing them out."

The class rises and follows Root out of the classroom and down the hall to the gun range. Once there, each kid is given ear muffs and eye protection, then assigned a station. Ed gets one next to Matt, but Dahn is a few kids over. As usual, he looks nervous. Matt leans around Ed to shoot Dahn a thumbs up, and he smiles back anxiously.

Root walks down the row behind the kid, placing an M14 on the table in front of each kid. He passes by again with some clips and ammo.

"Now, put on your protective gear, load the clip, push it into the gun, cock it, and fire all of the shots at the target. Remember the three safety rules, if I see you breaking any of them, you will be done for the day, end of discussion, and will owe me a paper explaining each rule in great detail." Root takes a step back from the group, signaling for them to start.

Ed opens the box of ammo, taking out 7 bullets and pressing them into the clip smoothly, but not quite as easily as Riza had when she had done it. He pulls on his earmuffs and puts on his glasses, glancing around to make sure the other recruits did the same.

Once confirmed, he pushes the clip into the bottom of the M14, cocks it, and raises it to take aim at the circular target down range. He aims for the bulls eye and squeezes the trigger, but unlike before, holds himself firm as the recoils shakes through his body. The bullet flies straight, but ends up a few rings below the bulls eye. Ed grits his teeth in determination. He pulls the trigger 6 more times, but doesn't manage to hit the middle of the target. Every shot is on the target somewhere, just not through the bulls eye.

Ed can feel Root's gaze on him as he pulls out the clip, reloads it, and puts it back in to fire again. He shakes off the feeling and focuses in, making good use of the opportunity to practice.

* * *

After 5 days of constant shooting of the M14, Karabiner 98K, and the Walther MPL, Ed finally feels like he could hit a moving target. The whole class gathers in the gun range for their final lesson of the second week. In order to move into the third week, they need to pass tests on all three weapons. That morning they had taken a written test, which every student had fortunately passed. Now Root paces in front of them while explaining the second half of their test.

"You will go one at a time, shooting on three different lanes, each one with a different weapon. The first lane is the M14 and it has two targets, each shaped like a human with boxes drawn on where a kill shot would be. You get seven shots, and must get one in each kill zone to pass that lane. Next is the Walther MPL, which has three targets, with one large box etched on each one. You will fire all 30 shots, and 25 out of the 30 must be in any of the three boxes in order for you to pass. Last is the Karabiner 98K and it only has one target, which is all the way at the back of the range. The target is a circle, and is split into points by zone. The center circle is 50 points, and subtract 5 points for every ring moving outward. To pass, you need to get 125 points in 6 shots. In order to move on to tactics next week, you need to pass all three sections." Root falls silent, letting the class absorb the information. "Right… Rockbell, you're up first."

Ed stands up slowly as the whole class turns their gaze on him. They all pull on their earmuffs as Ed walks over to the first lane. He puts on his protective gear and picks up the already loaded clip, placing it into the M14.

Two targets with mean looking thugs drawn on them are down range, with boxes over their heads and chest. Ed raises the rifle, aims carefully, and squeezes off a shot. It hits target one square in the chest, signaling a kill. With one down, Ed turns to the second one, firing round number two. It hits the guy in the abdomen, just below the box. Ed inhales sharply, focusing in and taking a third shot, which fortunately hits the lower corner of the guy's head, just inside the box.

Ed lets out the breath he was holding as he places down the weapon and makes his way to the second lane. The Walther MPL is waiting for him, and Ed handles it with ease, feeling confident with the small machine gun. He aims at the nearest target, releasing 10 shots, 9 of which make it inside the box. He changes his aim to the second one and squeezes the trigger again, this time releasing 15 shots. 13 out of 15 make it in, so Ed aims for the last target, releasing the final 10 bullets into the third box.

Ed places the Walther MPL down and moves onto the last lane, the most challenging of the three. He picks up the Karabiner 98K hastily, glancing down range at the target that seems to be miles away. He looks down his sights, pointing the center of his scope at the center of the target. He squeezes the trigger, but the bullet is way off, landing 4 rings away from the center to the lower right.

30 points

Ed tries to adjust for his aim by shifting to the left, but when he fires it just goes 3 rings out from the center and still low.

65 points

Ed readjusts for a third time and shoots again. This time the bullet is 5 rings above the bulls eye, almost off the target completely.

90 points

Ed takes the scope off his face, taking a moment to get his senses back. He can feel the students murmuring behind him, even through his protective ear muffs. He raises the gun once more, aiming very carefully and pulling the trigger, this time finally hitting close to the bulls eye, it's just one ring below the bulls eye.

135 points

Ed does some quick math in his head, and when he realizes he's passed, he places the weapon down, a huge grin growing on his face. He turns back to the class, and Matt shoots him a thumbs up, which Ed mirrors. He walks over and rejoins the group, sitting down with his two friends.

"Right, good job Rockbell, next up is Ren." Dahn's gaze snaps up, and the confidence that he has been working hard to build for the past two weeks dissolves, leaving the same nervous kid that Ed saw on the train so long ago. Ed has confidence though, both Dahn and Matt had proved they could shoot efficiently during the week, now it's just a matter of beating the nerves.

Dahn steps up to the first lane, and his hands are shaking slightly as he picks up the M14. He quickly fires off four shots, and Ed peeks down the lane. Only one shot hit a kill zone. Dahn shifts to his left and fires two more shots, but both miss. He freezes when he realizes he only has 1 more shot. He puts the gun down for a moment says something to himself in what must be xingese and picks the weapon back up with surprising intensity. He squeezes off the last shot, which nails the remaining target in the chest, a perfect kill.

Dahn moves onto the next two, easily clearing both of them and rejoining the class. A few other kids go next, then Matt. He has a lot of history with guns, and aces each segment of the test, hitting two bulls eyes in the third segment. Soon everyone is done, and everyone passed, which means they can all move on to tactics. Root releases the group to lunch, giving them the rest of the day off.

On the way, they happen to pass by Randall, who can't help himself and stops to talk to them. "I'm graduating today losers, and I hope I don't see you on the other side."

Ed steps in front of Dahn and Matt, staring Randall right in the eyes, "that's too bad, because I'm looking forward to seeing you."

Randall doesn't respond, but scoffs at the comment as he walks away.

After he's gone, Ed grins at his two friends, and they grin back, continuing on their way to the cafeteria.

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Hope ya'll weren't too bored, it was supposed to be dramatic like, "Will Dahn pass or won't he?" type thing.

Were you guys nervous for him?

Drop a review, pictures of Ed freaking out about his height will be presented.


	13. Week 3

Sorry about this being a day late… I was extremely busy yesterday and decided it was better to save it and get the extra sleep. The guys are almost done with training, so I think the story should start to pick up here, these past chapters were sorta fillerish, but now filler be gone!

Disclaimer: In the same way Ed is short at the beginning of the series, I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

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Week three starts out similar to week two, sitting in a classroom with Root standing at the front, "Now, there are three major rules that you need to understand before we can get into complicated tactics. They are, 1, Always follow orders, 2, Never betray the military, and 3, Always follow orders. Even if you don't like an order or don't understand it, you must follow it, is that clear soldiers?"

"Yes sir!" The class responds enthusiastically, eager to not only learn, but also to stay on the good side of Commander Root.

Root goes over to a small bookshelf in the corner of the room, pulling off a stack of thick textbooks and passing them out. "You will all read a chapter of this every night, then have a quiz on it in the morning. You must pass 5 out of 6 quizzes to graduate, plus the cumulative test at the end. After you take the quiz in the morning, we will discuss the material from the chapter during the day, then in the afternoon, you will go outside and run the drills from the chapter, practicing your communication skills and ability to adapt. Today we will talk about the basics of tactics. Everyone up, push the desks against the wall."

The class complies, and soon a large space is cleared in the center of the room.

"Get in a line."

Ed, Matt, and Dahn slide into the middle of the line, crunching between their classmates. Root stands at the front, staring down at the first kid, "this formation focuses on keeping the line hidden, while in this formation you move quickly and quietly." Root points down at the front kid, "the front of the line is called the point. While in this formation, every person will have a turn at being "the point." The front person stays up here for a while, then goes to the back of the line and everyone else moves forward. This keeps every soldier alert and prevents one person from facing the whole of the danger."

Root grabs the front kid's shoulder, making him shuffle to the side. "Now you go back, and everyone else steps forward." The kid turns and walks to the back, so the whole line moves up. "Good. Next, make two straight lines."

Once the Cadets split into two Root continues, "this is the marching formation, you will be in this formation when you march down streets and in public places. We march in pairs to appear stronger and tougher to the civilians, but not in threes because then the rank would appear small. Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good, the last formation we will set up is called the triangle, in this one you arrange yourselves like bowling pins, one person in the front, two people behind him, 3 people behind them, and so on and so forth. This is for battle circumstances where we have limited ammo. The people at the front of the group and the people on the edges fire, then shuffle to the middle so the soldiers can cycle outward and make their way to the edge of the platoon to fire their shots. This way we aren't wasting ammo by having everyone fire at once. Rockbell I want you at the front, everyone else form the triangle."

The class shuffles around, since there are 10 of them they make a perfect triangle with 4 rows. Ed stands at the front as instructed, nervous for what Root has up his sleeve.

"Now face the back of the classroom. This is called the reverse triangle, you get in this formation when you are trying to protect someone, putting the most people at the front of the line, and the injured or important person in the back here, so right now you would be protecting Rockbell from whatever dangers lie ahead."

Root grabs Ed and gives him a shove from behind, causing him to step between the two people standing in front of him. "If you get surrounded, you want to form a barrier around the target. The person on the right side of every line will move back one rank, except for the very back line. This will make it so our forces are more evenly distributed."

Ed takes another step so he's in the middle of the group as they shift around him. "Perfect, this is called the bubble…" Root watches the group silently for a moment, then lets out a sigh, "Alright that's all for now, class dismissed for lunch, afterwards we will practice shifting between positions outside, so turn your brains on."

* * *

Curfew in the training facility is always strictly 10 pm, or 22:00 military time, and mostly Ed complies with this rule. However, when he gets a phone call the next morning saying Roy Mustang is in town to see him, well who can resist sneaking out for that?

As Ed pulls on his shoes, Matt leans back against his chair, looking curiously at his roommate. "Where you goin?"

"Out, my brother Al is in town and I want to go see him." Ed lies smoothly as he walks over to the door, not really wanting to go into too many details. "If Root comes by, which he won't, tell him I'm getting sick in the bathroom or something. I'll be back before midnight."

"Alright dude see you later, I noticed you took a phone call after breakfast; that must have been him huh? I'll cover for you."

"Thanks," Ed steps out his door, glancing down the hallway. Once he sees it is clear, he walks down to the entrance and out the front door. The doors stay unlocked until midnight so he should have no problem getting back in.

Ed walks down the dark street, which is only lit by a few dim street lights. On the corner is a pub, named "The Greasy Pig." Earlier that day, Al had called earlier and told him that Roy would be waiting for him in the pub.

Ed pushes the door open confidently, and a is surprised by how full the pub is. Maybe around 30 customers are sitting at tables or milling about, plus the bar stools are completely filled. In the corner, Ed notices his favorite Flame Alchemist shift in his seat. Ed makes sure he doesn't know anyone else in the pub before crossing the room to where Roy is sitting.

"No Riza?" Ed comments briskly as he sits down across from the Colonel.

Roy shakes his head with a smile, "Of course she is here. My trusty lieutenant is in disguise, scanning the area for danger. You sure are rusty if you didn't notice her." Ed doesn't reply so Roy continues, "Did Al explain why I'm here?"

Ed nods, "he said you were going to explain to me who the leaders of the West are, as well as the suspects that I need to look out for."

Roy nods, "I have a few people to tell you about and we didn't feel comfortable giving you papers which could be found and confiscated. I brought pictures to help you put names to faces."

Ed scrunches his eyebrows together in annoyance, "I'm not a little kid."

"Close enough… anyway let's start at the top of the chain of command and work our way down." Roy pulls out some photos and holds up the first one up. An older man fills the frame; he's probably around Grumman's age, with a small pair of glasses resting at the base of his nose. "This is Lieutenant General Flier, he is the head command of the West. He is a very kind man and a good leader. In his younger days he led many missions and believes that his officers should lead by example. Now that he's older, he mostly sits behind his desk and fills out paperwork, letting his first in command take care of the hands on work."

Roy holds up a second photo, which has a man in his mid-thirties on it. "This is Lieutenant Colonel Howler. He is the second in command at the base. He takes orders from Lieutenant General Flier and is extremely active around the base."

Roy pause; glancing around the pub before leaning towards the older Elric brother, "Ed, this man is our prime suspect. Flier believes he is innocent, but Fuhrer Grumman is almost certain he is the leader of the corrupt organization, so be careful, we have been trying to get evidence against him for a while now."

Ed nods, but Roy isn't done yet. He only has one more photo, and Ed clenches his fist when he recognizes the soldier's face.

* * *

Dun dun dun… the plot thickens!

Who do you think it is?


	14. Jeebus Root

Did you figure out who it was? I'm updating on time this week, yay!

* * *

"This is Private Randall Shapiro. We have been tracking him since he graduated from the training camp one week ago, and we believe he is the newest member of the corrupt group. If we are correct, once the group has enough members they plan to overthrow Lieutenant General Flier and move into Central from there. We can't arrest anyone unless you get some proof that we can use in court. This could be anything, maybe a testimony or their meeting location."

Ed looks at the photo of Randall as he responds, "I'm going to use this kid to get on the inside. We'll be put into the same platoon and I'll befriend him, then get him to testify against them."

Roy puts the pictures away with a slight shake of his head. "Sounds pretty ambitious Fullmetal, I hope you succeed. I want you to call Al once you've got enough evidence for us to make an arrest, then we'll get on a train and lock down the base, claiming that Central sent us to do a mandatory inspection. We'll get on the inside; make the arrest, then inspect every soldier to make sure we don't leave a chunk of the organization intact."

* * *

Ed arrives at the training center doors at 11:55 and is grateful when the doors are still unlocked and no one seems to be around. He sneaks down the hallway, careful to place his feet lightly. Eventually he reaches the dorm area, but of course not everything can go as planned. As he takes his first step into the hallway, a strong hand latches onto his shoulder.

"Come with me Major Elric," the voice is quiet and firm, but Ed can clearly make out Commander Root's deep tone. Root's hand clamps down tightly on Ed's shoulder, leading him down a separate hallway towards his office.

Once they arrive, Root closes his office door, the door clicking loudly as he turns the lock. "Sit."

Ed complies, keeping his face expressionless as Root sits down across from the now exposed Elric.

Root simply stares at Ed for a moment before speaking, "You were out past curfew."

"Yes sir, and I'm sorry, I snuck out to go see my brother. He called me this morning saying he was in town today."

"Elric, I don't want any excuses," Root trails off, glancing down at his desk before continuing, "I guess Colonel Mustang didn't tell you, but I've been on your side this whole time, I was informed of your true identity before you stepped in the front door over two weeks ago."

Ed feels his jaw slacken at the news. He shakes his head rapidly from side to side, "No he didn't tell me, why didn't you tell me at the beginning of all this?" Ed stands up abruptly, confusion flashing in his eyes as he tries to absorb this new information.

"I couldn't find a good time, but I heard the Colonel was coming in town today to talk to you, so I figured I would grab you on your way back in. I'm here to help you with anything you need, and to also help you move up the ranks. When you graduate, I'm going to put top marks out there and put you in the best platoon possible, along with your new friends of course. This way you can get as close to the officers as possible."

Ed clenches his fist, but accepts the news, "Thank you for letting me know, and I hope to get to the bottom of this."

Root nods, satisfied with Ed's answer, "Good, now get back to your bunk, I'm sure Kendler is waiting up for you, he is a very reliable friend, that Ren kid is too, recruiting them to your cause could be smart."

Ed steps back from his chair, salutes, and exits the office. He quickly goes back to his dorm room, sliding into the room as silently as possible. Of course Matt is awake and sitting up on his bunk. His traditional grin breaks out on his face when Ed appears in the room.

"Dude! It's like 12:15, and the doors locked at midnight. I was getting so worried!" Matt's tries to sound worried, but is clearly relieved to see his friend returned safely. "How did it go with your brother?"

Ed climbs up onto his own bunk, plopping down before he tells his story. "It was great to see Al, we hung out in the nearest pub and just chatted for a while, then had some root beer together. He talked about things going on back home, where the rest of my family is and what they've been up to and everything. When I noticed it was getting late I rushed back here, fortunately the doors were still unlocked. No one was around so I just snuck back into the room. What were you up to?" Ed props up on one shoulder as he waits for Matt's answer.

"Well not much, I just sat around here and read the textbook, tomorrow we are going to be learning about good sniper locations. We should go to bed so we're ready for tomorrow."

Ed agrees and rolls over, falling into a steady sleep within minutes.

* * *

"There are a few things to consider when choosing a spot to snipe from."

Root rolls out a large picture on the chalkboard at the front of the classroom, showing a garden, with a few buildings behind it. The picture was taken at night, with one light set up in the center of the garden.

"Can anyone see the sniper in this photo?" The class squints at the photo, but the night makes the tops of the buildings difficult to make out, plus they cast large shadows over the garden.

After a few moments of silent pass, Root pulls out a marker and draws a small circle on the map on the roof of a shorter building. "The tallest building in this photo is casting a shadow on the shorter building and the sniper is using the extra shade to keep himself hidden. If another sniper were around, they wouldn't be able to see him unless they were on the tallest building. One of the first things to look for on a scene is shadows, they are perfect to hide under."

"Next is height, if the buildings are too far apart, you want to pick the tallest building. This way you can see onto the tops of all the other roofs, but they can't see onto yours. This is of course assuming that enemy snipers are going to positioned in the area. Once you are set up, always be alert of your surroundings because someone could show up after you. Much of this was covered in the textbook so you will be expected to know it. This afternoon we will go on a walk as a class and talk through an inspection of a quarter mile area set up for sniper training. Tonight you will be given a paintball gun and released one at a time to go find a sniper spot. Once you're all hidden, which should be by 20:00, you will start sniping each other, the last person remaining gets to leave the training center for a hot meal with me, and I'm buying."

* * *

Surprising right? I put Root's name there but he's not the evil one, hehe…


	15. Sniper Training

I almost forgot to update today, oops, but then I remembered!

Disclaimer: I wish I could own Full Metal Alchemist, but I can't.

* * *

The sniper training zone is set up exactly like the Main Street in Central. Someone had done a lot of research, and there are four streets lined with buildings of varying heights, at the end of the streets is a large wall with what appears to be Central HQ painted on it. Every building has an establishment or home inside, but of course no one actually lives there. A few alleyways were inserted, remind Ed of his adventures with Winry from what seems to be so long ago.

Ed is released first, and he is given five minutes before the next person can go. He sprints down the middle street and ducks into an alleyway when the group of students are nothing but little specks. Earlier that day, he had noticed a tall church set up in the near center of the tower. It looked like one that Al had described once; apparently Riza had hidden there during a mission while Ed was away. He makes his way to that tower very quickly, scooting in the front door and closes it firmly behind him, locking it so no one else can enter. People who come later will just assume it was always locked, a big benefit of Ed going first. His paintball gun is slung over his back as he scales the circular stairs, aware that in one minute, the next kid is going to be released into the city. Ed reaches the top floor with mere seconds left and quickly makes his way to the window. They supplied him with a hunting hat to hide his hair which he spins around backwards so it is resting comfortably on his head.

As he peeks out to check his vantage point, he can see the next kid running down the main street. The kid doesn't spare Ed's tower a glance, not noticing he's being watched.

Once the kid is gone, Ed strips off his paintball gun and drops it on the ground, stripping himself of his shirt. He pulls a few nails out of his pocket and gets to work, nailing the jacket into the upper corner of the room so it casts a shadow over the window. With that done, Ed goes inside the building and waits where he can't be seen at all from the outside, still having 40 minutes to wait until he can start shooting his fellow classmates.

The sun is still partially up, and it sets slowly over Ed's 40 minutes of waiting time. Ed waits patiently for 8:00 to arrive, then grabs his paintball gun and lies down under his newly generated shadow.

At first glance, Ed can't see anyone, but after a moment, someone shifts a few roofs over. Ed can't tell who it is because of the hats, but the kid has turned away from him, pointing his gun down towards the street where someone clearly forgot to hide as they run down the main road. Ed pauses, deciding he doesn't want to blow his cover quite yet.

Ed shifts his gun slowly, making sure it doesn't stick out from the window. The first kid shoots down into the street, missing with his first shot but startling the kid on the road. Three more shots ring out and finally the kid on the street is down. Ed immediately opens fire on the remaining kid, using only one shot to nail him in the back. Two down, seven to go.

The two kids leave quickly, following the rules which dictate that you must leave the fake city borders once you get shot. Everyone has a different color paintball so you can figure out who you killed afterwards. Ironically, Ed's color is yellow.

Ed turns his gaze, looking at the roofs from across the street. Since he only fired once, he probably wasn't seen. Around 10 buildings down another kid is crouching down behind a cracked window, just below the roof. He is pointing his gun down towards another building a few down from Ed, he must have spotted someone. The window he opened is only a couple feet tall, with just his chest and gun exposed. Ed leans out the window slightly, aiming carefully through his sites. He squeezes the trigger, but is off, maybe from the wind, and the paint splats on the window next to the kid, causing him to jump as his head snaps to Ed's location. As he raises his gun, Ed fires a few more shots, it doesn't matter now that his cover is blown. Right as the kid is going to fire, a shot makes it through, splatting onto his chest. Ed quickly ducks back inside his window, but figures its time to find a new hiding place.

Ed pulls the nails out of his coat, pocketing them as he pulls his jacket over his shoulders. He silently makes his way back down the stairs and to the door. 'I know someone is a few buildings down on this side, I should try to sneak up on them.' He pauses at the door, unlocks it, and slides out, slipping back into the alleyway he came from. He glances back into the street, trying to figure out where the guy was hiding. He guesses around three buildings down and breaks into a sprint, making sure to stay within one hand's length against the buildings closest to him. He counts out three buildings, and slides inside quietly. The building appears to be some sort of office and has three stories.

Ed slings his paintball gun onto his back and pulls out the paintball pistol he was supplied with. He holds it steady in front of him with two hands as he makes his way over to the stairs. He takes the steps as quietly as possible. Fortunately the stairs are sturdy and don't creak. As Ed reaches floor two, his target comes into view.

The kid is looking quite nervous, probably because he saw the other kid get taken out. Ed takes a deep breath, squeezes the trigger, and lets out a sigh of relief when it hits the kid square in the back. He spins around abruptly, making eye contact with Ed.

"Aw you got me bud," Matt reveals himself as he walks over, looking bummed but excited to see his friend.

"Better luck next time," Ed sticks out his hand, which Matt shakes firmly.

"How many are left?"

Ed pauses to count on his fingers, "Well I saw one person get taken out, then took out three myself, so that leaves five others. Chances are someone else took out a few, so I'd say there are probably two or three left."

"Good luck, I'd find a new sniper spot if I were you."

Matt heads out, and Ed waits for a moment before leaving as well. He keeps his pistol out in case he encounters another person who noticed the commotion. As he reaches the stairs, he turns to walk down, when suddenly something explodes as it nails him in the back. Ed freezes, and reaches over his back, feeling something wet. When he brings his hand back and sees green on it, he connects the dots.

* * *

Who did it? Well I guess it should be sorta obvious, but you might not know ;)


	16. Platoon 145

Sorry about this being two days late… I was super busy two days ago and yesterday but I hope this good chapter is worth the wait.

Disclaimer: As I sip out of my Arby Michigan State cup, I am thinking about the lovely fact that I do now own Full Metal Alchemist.

* * *

He turns slowly, and comes face to face with Dahn who is grinning from ear to ear.

"You beat me," Ed puts his pistol away, admitting defeat.

Dahn himself looks pretty surprised at how it turned out. "Wow hey Ed, I couldn't tell it was you for a second with your hair covered. I was up on the third floor when I heard a shot so I came to check it out, you're the fifth guy I've taken out."

Ed freezes, "you took out four? I took out four! That means you've won Dahn!"

Dahn's grin stretches even further if that's possible, and the two exit the building and make their way back to the group. The Cadets looks surprised at who won, but they accept Dahn with opens arms and cheer. Root slaps him on the shoulder with a smile.

"Good job soldier, let's get going, restaurant of your choice. The rest of you get to bed, and make sure to wash that paint off. Ed glances around, seeing that one kid is hit with red, four with yellow, and 5 with green. Ed feels some satisfaction at his number of hits, and is incredibly impressed with how well Dahn did; he'll have to get the full story later.

* * *

"You ten Cadets have been here for three weeks now, going through rigorous lessons and training. Each one of you has proven you are ready to enter the Army. Congratulations, you are now Privates. The ten of you will form a new platoon, matched up with last week's graduates. There were only six of them, making you a sixteen member platoon, with someone temporarily assigned as your platoon leader. After your first mission, you will elect one platoon leader from amongst yourselves, so keep that in mind."

Root paces in front of the newest graduates, looking down at them proudly, "All of you will succeed in the military if you play smart and don't get yourselves killed. I'll see you later."

Ed nods once as Root passes in front of him, and he holds eye contact for a split second before looking away.

"Go pack your stuff and report to barracks 145 at 18:00 hours, class dismissed."

The group turns to each other, chattering in excitement about graduating. They take off down the hall as a group, splitting into their rooms. Ed throws his clothes into his bag once he's in the room and exchanges an excited look with Matt as he packs up. "We did it." Ed can't help but grin at the achievement, even if Root knew about his secret the whole time.

"Yea man, now we go to the big boys, our own platoon and everything. I wonder where we'll be sent for our first mission." Matt starts talking about all the places he wants to go as he continues to pack, ranging from out East to the icy mountains of Briggs.

Ed almost comments about Briggs, but stops when he remembers his cover, "yea all those places sound great, but Central isn't all its hyped up to be, trust me, once you get there, you want to leave."

Matt nods and zips up his bag after he's put everything in it. Ed finishes as well, so the two exit the training center, making their way to the other end of the zone where the barracks are. The barracks count up from 100, so Ed and Matt walk for quite a while looking for 145. They eventually find it and make their way inside.

The barracks is 15 feet wide, and goes 1/10th of a mile back. 16 beds are in the room, 8 on each side. Each bed has a cabinet besides it, and the walls are of course, dull grey.

A few people are inside, and they don't glance up as Ed and Matt walk down the row of beds. Ed chooses a free one and throws his stuff onto it, with Matt right beside him. Suddenly, Ed feels a gaze on his back, so he looks over at the group, instantly making eye contact with someone who's three beds over.

"Hey Randall," Ed greets warmly with a smile. Randall's gaze snaps down, choosing not to respond. One of his friends murmurs something to him, but Randall just shakes his head.

The front door swings open, revealing Dahn. He notices Randall in the corner, but ignores him and goes over to Ed and Matt. He drops his stuff on the nearest free bed and plops down, looking thankful that his two friends are between him and his old bully.

"I wonder who will be assigned as our temporary platoon leader. I hope it's someone cool." Matt stands up with a stretch, and looks to his left as the rest of their graduating class enters the barracks, filling up the remaining beds.

Ed shrugs, "Dunno, I don't know many people around here since I'm from Central. You would know best I think."

The group falls silent, and all sixteen Privates stare at each other, no one really knowing what to say. After a few minutes a seventeenth person enters the barracks. The entire barracks remains quiet, this time in surprise, as a blond female stands before them with a clipboard in her hands, hair pulled back in a tight bun.

"At attention Privates, now." The new soldiers jump up, straightening and saluting. "My name is Warrant Officer Poulfer and I will be your temporary Platoon Leader. I will quickly take attendance since this is your first day."

Poulfer reads a list of names off her clipboard, each person raising his hand when she calls their name. She finishes quickly, and tells the soldiers to relax. "Now, I will be with you for a couple of weeks. We will go on our first mission together, then you will vote on your own Platoon Leader. That person will be promoted to a Corporal. Understood?"

"Yes Ma'am." The group responds enthusiastically, and Poulfer looks pleased with their response.

"Dinner for us is at 18:00 hours, and tomorrow morning report for our daily run at 06:00. See you later soldiers." Poulfer exits the barracks, leaving the 16 new recruits in silence.

* * *

"It's been one week since this Platoon has been put together, and we have just been given our first mission." Poulfer paces in front of her platoon as they stand at attention in front of their beds.

"We are to go to a small town West of here called Midland. A thief has been reported and apparently he has been running amok for the past few days, but no one can seem to catch him. We are going to go down there, lay a trap, and capture him. For this you will be split into teams, and we will enter the city separately so the thief doesn't become aware of us until it is too late."

Poulfer looks at the group silently for a moment before continuing. "The four of you will lay the trap, the four of you will be on lookout around the city, the four of you will stay on the edges of the city, making sure the thief doesn't leave, and the four of you," Poulfer points at Matt, Dahn, Ed, and Randall, "you'll be with me, we are making the arrest."

Poulfer pulls a picture out of her pocket, "This is the thief." The man has a scraggly look to him, with short black hair and stubble on his chin. He's looking off the side, like he didn't know the picture was being taken.

"We are borrowing a citizens house, and will be putting a large safe in front of the window to draw him in, once he breaks into the house, he will be easy to capture."

"We leave tomorrow morning, packs your things and get a good night's sleep."

* * *

Drop a review, maybe next time I won't be late.


	17. The First Mission

Hey guys, yes I know this is a week late, but let me explain. This week for me is midterm week, and I had 3 midterms in the last 4 days. I spent all of last week studying and getting ready so thank you for your patience.

Disclaimer: My excuses aren't very good, but I don't own Full Metal Alchemist

* * *

Poulfer, Ed, Matt, Dahn, and Randall are set to enter town from the North side, and they take their first steps when the clock strikes noon. The city is quite small, just a group of houses with a few bars and stores towards the center. The group makes their way to the one hotel in the town to check in, and then head to the nearest bar to do a little reconnaissance.

It's pretty early, so the bar is almost completely empty, with a few locals sitting at the bar talking to the bartender. Poulfer narrows her eyes and lowers her voice to just above a whisper, "I will do the talking. Go sit at a table over there and keep your mouths shut."

They nod and split away from Poulfer, walking over to a nearby table. Poulfer sits down at the bar and orders what appears to be a beer, starting up a chat happily with the person next to her. Ed can hardly believe his eyes when the person who he believed to be so strict giggles at something the man says.

Poulfer downs her drink and the man quickly orders her another one. A waitress approaches the Private's table, drawing Ed's attention away from his commanding officer. "Four root beers please," Randall orders for the group, quietly asserting his leadership. Ed keeps his mouth shut for now, he'll get his chance later.

The waitress walks away, and the four return to staring at their platoon leader, who is still eagerly talking to the bar's resident. The bartender has joined in as well, but Ed is too far away to catch what they are saying.

After a moment the waitress returns with the root beers, so they start sipping on them silence. Ed eyes Randall, who furrows his eyebrows together.

"Look… if we are going to work together, we may as well get along. I think we got off on the wrong foot." Ed puts down his root beer mug, trying to sound as peaceful as possible.

Randall doesn't respond at first, choosing to take a long sip off his root beer. He places it down with a small clink, avoiding Ed's gaze. He looks over at Matt, and then at Dahn, who for once has shaken off his nervousness and shoots him a small smile.

"I guess I have no choice," Randall concedes, leaning forward in his seat. "We need to have a successful mission, and if I have to work together with you three, then so be it."

Ed grins, "Great, let's get this done, and maybe by the end we won't have to be enemies anymore." If Ed were back home with Al, he would be leaping out of his seat with a small sparkle flashing over his head. However, mature undercover Ed keeps that under lock and key behind his smile.

Matt grins as well, raising his glass happily. "To us, lets have an awesome mission."

Dahn matches Matt, "To us."

Ed nods and picks his own mug up. Randall hesitates for a moment before raising his own glass. "To us."

The four clink their glasses together and share a drink. Meanwhile, Poulfer is wrapping her conversation up with the bar folk, and she stands up and comes over to the Privates. "I've got everything I need, lets go."

The four drop some coins onto the table and stand up. They leave and head to another bar to gather more information. Again Poulfer warns them before approaching unsuspecting bar residents, so again, they sit down at a table, and the cycle continues…

* * *

Every night one person from each group goes to a secret location to exchange information.

Randall goes to meet up with the other Platoon members on the first night, and when he returns he has some interesting news. "They are setting up the trap house tonight and believe that he could show up anytime within the next week. We should get in position to capture him tomorrow. The other two groups are set up, and actually spotted the thief amongst a group of people, but they didn't make a move because they didn't want to alert him to their presence. The town perimeters are being watched, so if he leaves, we'll know it."

"Thank you Shapiro, good work." Poulfer complements the young Private, sending him and the other Privates to their shared hotel room.

Once there, the four of them lay out a map of the city, talking strategy. Ed pulls out a pen, drawing a large circle, "This is the house, we need to figure out how we are going to capture the thief once he enters."

"Is there an attic in the house?" Dahn asks curiously, leaning over the map.

Randall nods, "I think so, two of us can hide in there and wait until we hear something. I can do that, maybe with Warrant Officer Poulfer."

"We can put two people on the roof as well, with one more person a few roofs away watching the street." Ed inputs his opinion, and is happy when all three nod in agreement.

"We should take up these posts starting tomorrow morning, then take turns sleeping in case he shows up at night." Matt rolls up the map and throws it into Ed's bag. "We should get some sleep, tomorrow is a big day."

* * *

Three days of vigil pass uneventfully, and the group is wondering if this guy is every going to show up. Ed and his group find themselves in the bars once again, trying to figure out where this thief could have gone. The group who is in charge of watching the city exits hasn't reported him leaving, so he must be hiding out, maybe he heard about the military presence within the town.

Poulfer is not in a good mood, and she looks exhausted from the constant lookout. "We need to find out if anyone's seen this guy, we might have to think of another way to capture him since he isn't taking our bait."

The gang knows the drill by now, and they pick a table in the corner while Poulfer hits up the bars.

As Ed sits down, he notices someone with a hood drawn over his face as he enters the pub. He sits down at the bar and order a drink, but don't greet anyone else in the establishment. Ed nudges Matt subtly, feeling anticipation pool in his gut. "Hey, what kind of luck do you think we'd have if that's him?"

Matt looks up, and reaches into his pocket to pull out a photo of the criminal. "That'd be sweet, we'll definitely know when he turns around."

Randall rises slowly, "I'll go stand on the other side of the door, and if its him wave to me and I'll grab him."

Ed nods, "go for it."

Randall crosses the room smoothly, leaning on the wall next to the exit while looking down at his hands.

The guy at the bar is still drinking, keeping his head down, he sat pretty far away from Poulfer who is absorbed in a conversation of her own.

After a while he stands up, dropping a few coins on the bar counter. As he turns to leave, Ed gets a brief glimpse of his face, and squints hard at him. He holds up to the picture. It's an instant match, he looks exactly like the man in the photo.

He raises his hand quickly, signaling to Randall who slides into the doorway. Ed and his friends jump up, running over to where the hooded man has paused in front of Randall.

"What?" he stuffs his hands in his pockets, clearly wanting to avoid a confrontation.

Randall his pistol, eyes narrowed with determination, "You are under arrest for thievery, put your hands up."

The guy takes a step back, then suddenly pulls a 9mm pistol out of his pocket. He hesitates for a split second like he doesn't want to shoot, but Randall freezes up as well. The two stare down each other's barrels for a moment in eerie silence.

"Randall get down!" Dahn hisses, jumping forward and pulling Randall to the ground as the thief lets two shots ring. Fortunately both miss and Matt leaps on him, knocking the gun out of his hands and slamming his head into the ground to knock him unconscious.

Poulfer looks up from the bar and her jaw hits the ground in shock. She quickly regains her composure and joins the group. "Well would you look at that, good job guys, especially you Shapiro. I noticed of course, I just wanted to let you kids handle it."

Dahn rolls off Randall and the two stand up, but Randall looks nervous for once, "Thank you Miss Poulfer."

"I'll take this guy to the local prison, then round up the rest of the Platoon, see you back at the hotel Privates." Poulfer scoops the unconscious thief off the ground, leaving the pub.

Randall still looks nervous and turns towards Dahn warily. "Thanks for saving me," he admits, "maybe I was wrong about you guys."

Dahn shakes his head, "Don't worry about it."

"I didn't deserve it," Randall looks down at the ground bitterly, "Not after the way I treated you."

Dahn puts one hand onto Randall's shoulder, showing a calmness that he's slowly developed over the past four weeks. "I don't hold grudges, and neither should you."

Randall nods, looking up and smiling at the xingese kid, for once seeing him as an equal.

Matt throws his arms around the two happily, "awesome we're all friends now, lets have some root beer before we go back!"

Randall agrees, "Sure, and I'm buying."

* * *

I will try to be more timely next week, it will be spring break and everything.


End file.
